A subgenre of rock music, developed in the southern states of the USA from rock and blues with a tinge of influence from country and folk, and focussed generally on electric guitar and vocals.

Southern rock is most closely associated with the Allman Brothers Band during the early 1970s. Their blues-rock sound on one hand incorporated long jams informed by jazz and classical music and on the other hand incorporated softer elements of country and folk with a Southern feel. The death of guitarist and leader Duane Allman in 1971 did not prevent them from gaining widespread popular appeal for the next several years, until internal tensions broke them apart after 1976.

Similar bands from the Macon, GA area, also recorded on the local Capricorn Records, included the Marshall Tucker Band and the Elvin Bishop Band.

In the early 1970s, a different wave of hard rock Southern groups emerged that emphasised stripped down boogie rhythms, fast guitar leads derived from heavy metal and lyrical themes borrowed from the concurrent outlaw country movement. Lynyrd Skynyrd out of Jacksonville, FL dominated this genre until the deaths of lead singer Ronnie Van Zant and other members of the group in a 1977 airplane crash. Groups such as Blackfoot and Black Oak Arkansas also thrived in this genre for a time.

By the beginning of the 1980s, with the Allmans and Skynyrd both broken, with Capricorn Records in bankruptcy, and with Jimmy Carter out of office, much of Southern rock had become thoroughly enmeshed into corporate arena rock.

During the 1990s the Allman Brothers reunified and became a strong touring and recording presence again, and the jam band scene revived interest in extended improvised music. Incarnations of Lynyrd Skynyrd also made themselves heard.

Even the grunge music scene was influenced in some measure by Southern rock. Some Pearl Jam songs certainly feature guitar licks and arrangements that harken back to the classic Southern sound.

However, not every rock group from the South can be classed as Southern rock, and Georgia's R.E.M. and the Black Crowes are quite distinct.

Several of the original early 1970s Southern rock groups are still performing, including Greg Allman, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackfoot, Marshall Tucker and the Outlaws. New groups such as Gov't Mule are also continuing the Southern rock form. However, much of the old style Southern rock (as well as other classic rock) has made its transition into the country music genre, establishing itself along the lines of outlaw country in recent years. Bands such as Skynyrd and Daniels frequently play country music venues, and the influence of Southern rock can be heard in many of today's country artists, particularly male vocalists.