The Allman Brothers Band

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Tonight I'll take you on a trip down to Georgia for some good old Southern Rock from The Allman Brothers Band.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame has this to say about the band:

The Allman Brothers Band evolved out of jams in Jacksonville, Florida, involving Duane [Allman] and members of the Second Coming (guitarist Dickey Betts, bassist Berry Oakley) and the 31st of February (drummer Butch Trucks). Another drummer, Jai Johanny Johanson (a.k.a. “Jaimoe”), was a veteran of the soul-music circuit, having played with and others. A magical five-hour jam among the musicians at Trucks’ house cemented the union and prompted this remark from Duane Allman: “Anybody who doesn’t want to be in my band is going to have to fight his way out the door.” Gregg was summoned back from California, where he was unhappily fulfilling a contractual obligation as a solo artist. The Allman Brothers Band were officially formed in March 1969 and signed to Phil Walden’s fledgling Capricorn label, which became the main driving force of the Southern-rock insurgence of the Seventies.

The group’s first two studio albums - The Allman Brothers Band (1970) and Idlewild South (1971) - contained classic songs like “Dreams,” “Whipping Post,” “Midnight Rider” and “Revival.” Both were hard-hitting announcements of the Southern-rock sound. However, it was in concert that the band burned brightest. Led by Duane Allman’s searing guitar, the Allman Brothers Band’s live shows left devoted fans in their wake. The March 1971 concerts recorded for At Fillmore East in New York caught them at their peak. Sadly, the Allman Brothers Band was dealt a catastrophic blow when Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle crash in Macon, Georgia, on October 29, 1971. A year later, on November 11, 1972, bassist Berry Oakley died under eerily similar circumstances only a few blocks from where Duane’s accident had occurred.

However, the group regrouped and persevered. Duane was not immediately replaced; instead, a second keyboardist, Chuck Leavell, added a jazzy new dimension. Oakley was replaced by bassist Lamar Williams. As a testimony to the Allman Brothers Band’s resilience, the group’s most commercially successful albums came in the wake of their tragic losses.

So kick up your heels, eat a peach and enjoy.

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