Doing Away With Dixie?

Can they "CGI" the car (no longer referred to by its name)?

"Modern" country act Lady Antebellum changed their name yesterday.

Understanding that the term "antebellum" (defined as: occurring or existing before a particular war, especially the American Civil War) has implications of slavery, they shortened it to Lady A. That, honestly, had always been a shorthand for the band.

It allowed them to generate some press and an appearance of doing "good." But, as some pointed out, the "A" will still, in theory, stand for antebellum.

But, wait just a tick, there's a blues singer in Seattle named...you guessed it!...Lady A (Rolling Stone).

We'll leave it to those folks to figure all of that out, but it does beg the question of where does this all stop?

It didn't take long before the sharks were circling another favorite: the Dixie Chicks. Are they next?

It reminded me that I had read a story about the Dixie Highway -- an early National Auto Trail originally planned in 1914 that ran from Chicago to Miami. The story from the Sun-Sentinel, indicates that there's a debate in place to remove the Dixie Highway name.

Indeed, efforts to the north have been successful, as the likes of Jefferson Davis Highway have been scrubbed in some places. Many of my fellow road enthusiasts, particularly those in the left-handed batters box, applauded the decision.

I find myself mostly apathetic; willing to just simply watch it all go away. Monument Ave in Richmond will look quite different in the future as well. Comments about "history" are always thrown into the racist bucket and we know conversation isn't welcome.

So, apathy it is.

But, it still begs the question of what's next?

It looks like "The Dukes of Hazzard," currently streaming on Amazon, might get the boot. I can't say I'm shocked at that one.

It got me thinking about "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" by The Band. Written by Robbie Robertson, it tells the story of a white man in the south during the Civil War. It mentions George Stoneman and, most notably, Robert E. Lee.

It's certainly not pro-south in any way, but more of a slice-of-life in the waning days of the Civil War of a man from Tennessee in

It's a slice of Americana, which is exactly what Robertson -- a Canadian -- had in mind when he wrote it. But he also had to go to the library in Woodstock, NY with the great Levon Helm to get a history lesson on the Civil War.

Still, no less a protestor than Joan Baez recorded a cover in 1971 that was a smash. Would she have taken on such a song thinking it was pro-south?

It's The Band's version that just does so much for my heart, led by Helm's Arkansas-soaked vocal and the harmonies of Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. Plus it's the "B" side of the "Up On Cripple Creek" single, for what it's worth, and that's a pretty great duo.

So does this need to be eradicated? I realize this carries into "book burning" territory but, still, it feels like everything is fair game right now.

As we speak there is a debate over -- brace yourself -- Penny Lane in Liverpool because it's been suggested the street was named after slave merchant James Penny. However, there is no proof of that. Still, street signs have been defaced, including one signed by Paul McCartney.

So, now, should Penny Lane be in my ears and in my eyes?

I'm not looking for a debate. Purely wondering. In my own innocence/stupidity I played the "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" today and was mesmerized by it.

Maybe I shouldn't be.