Artist of the Week - .38 Special

38 Special (also written .38 Special or Thirty-Eight Special) is an American rock band that was formed by neighborhood friends Don Barnes and Donnie Van Zant in 1975 in Jacksonville, Florida.^{[citation needed]} By the early 1980s, 38 Special began amalgamating southern rock and arena rock in their music, thereby kicking off a string of successful albums and singles.

Their first high-charting song was "Hold On Loosely" (1981); "Caught Up In You" (1982) and "If I'd Been The One" (1983) both hit #1 on Billboard magazine's Album Rock Tracks chart. "Back Where You Belong" (1984) continued the annual sequence of radio favorites, and "Second Chance" (1989), a #1 hit on Billboard's adult contemporary chart, was sung by former Specialist Max Carl.

In 2007, 38 Special was the opening act on Lynyrd Skynyrd and Hank Williams Jr.'s Rowdy Frynds Tour, and on September 27, 2008, they filmed a CMT Crossroadsspecial with country singer Trace Adkins, performing both artists' hits from over the years. In 2009, 38 Special opened for REO Speedwagon and Styx as part of the "Can't Stop Rockin' Tour."

The current lineup consists of Barnes, Van Zant, guitarist Danny Chauncey, bassist Larry Junstrom, keyboardist Bobby Capps and drummer Gary Moffatt.

- Wikipedia