Song · Shinedown
“Simple Man” by Shinedown
Released 2004
“Simple Man” by Shinedown appears on 5 radio countdowns from 5 stations between 2004 and 2021. It was first released in 2004. Its best result is #2 on the WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2004. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #176 alternative song of 2004.
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Shinedown's 2004 cover of "Simple Man" takes on one of Lynyrd Skynyrd's most popular songs, written by Gary Rossington and Ronnie Van Zant for Skynyrd's 1973 debut. The song is a mother talking to her child about how to live, inspired by the death of Van Zant's grandmother, and Shinedown treat it with care.
Tony Battaglia produced, recorded and mixed it, and Brent Smith's voice carries the weight: patient through the verses, then wide open when the guitars thicken. The arrangement trades Southern twang for modern rock heft, but the ache of the original survives the trip.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Hard Rock & Metal
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 33 | CHOI Radio X Quebec City, QC | CHOI Top 98 Songs of 2004 | 98 |
| 2004 | 2 | WCCC The Rock Hartford, CT | WCCC Top 106 Songs of 2004 | 106 |
| 2004 | 57 | WIRS 107.9 College station | WIRS Top 107 Songs of 2004 | 107 |
| 2005 | 217 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 20 | KISW | KISW 25 Greatest Rock Covers | 25 |
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