The Allman Brothers Band
Formed
26 March 1969, Jacksonville, FL, United States
Disbanded
29 October 2014, New York, NY, United States
Members
Gregg Allman (vocals, organ), Butch Trucks (drums), Duane Allman (slide guitar, 1969-71), Richard Betts (guitar, 1969-2000), Berry Oakley (bass, 1969-72), Jai Johanny Johanson (drums, 1969-80, 1989-2014), Chuck Leavell (keyboards, 1972-76, 1986), Lamar Williams (bass, 1972-76), Dan Toler (guitar, 1978-86), David Goldflies (bass, 1978-82), Mike Lawler (keyboards, piano, 1980-82), David "Frankie" Toler (drums, 1980-82), Warren Haynes (guitar, 1989-97, 2000-14), Johnny Neel (keyboards, harmonica, 1989-90), Allen Woody (bass, 1989-97), Marc Quiñones (drums, percussion, backing vocals, 1991-2014), Jack Pearson (guitar, 1997-99), Oteil Burbridge (bass, 1997-2014), Derek Trucks (guitar, 1999-2014), Jimmy Herring (guitar, 2000)
Related Artists
Allman Joys, Aquarium Rescue Unit, The Dickey Betts Band, Blue Floyd, The Dead, Frogwings, Gov't Mule, Colonel Bruce Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit, Hour Glass, Sea Level, The Second Coming, The Toler Brothers, Vida Blue
Also Known As
The Allman Brothers, Allman Brothers, Allman Brothers Band
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Discography
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Live Album
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elayblooze
"When my Melissa and I wed, there was only one band we had in mind for our first song/dance at the reception - The Allman Brothers Band. As I swayed with my mate to the sweet longing strains of "Melissa," I couldn't help but wonder how long road music has taken in the hearts and souls of many a world-weary traveller. At the end of the day, this group has journeyed at least as far in the musical spectrum as that, and still do so to this day. From their humble Southern beginnings, through the late-night jams Duane 'Skydog' Allman performed, pre-Bros., with the likes of greats Wilson Pickett and Aretha, to the incredible Live changing nights at the Fillmore East, through tragedy, (deaths of Duane and Berry), through the triumphant return in Atlanta and Dickey Betts' "Ramblin' Man", this group has seen and done it all. They really did it by sticking to their namesake, like real brothers they had enough trust and love to let each other have freedom in their playing and yet bring the whole damn jam together into a genre-morphing, yet cohesive, whole. Call 'em Southern rock, call 'em blues or country. Whatever you want to call 'em don't really matter 'cause it's all just Great Grand Rockin' Music!"
RYM Rough Guide for The Allman Brothers Band
Biography
The Allman Brothers Band flawlessly brought to life a mighty blend of southern musical influences into a genre that would become known as southern rock. Those influences included soul, blues, country, rock, R&B, gospel and maybe a not so southern jazz influence. It’s obvious that their live jams followed a traditional jazz structure of long solo’s using various instruments that culminated in an instrumental battle for the final act. Their live performances primarily using this structure are legendary and influenced many bands to come.
Duane and Greg formed their first band, a rock & roll group called The Escorts, in 1963 that morphed into a blues band called the Allman Joys in 1965. As the Allman Joys, they recorded a cover of Willie Dixon's Spoonful which was released as a single but didn’t catch on. The two brothers then went to Los Angeles with three members of the group and were eventually signed by Liberty Records in 1967 and called themselves Hour Glass. Hour Glass had a more soul oriented sound and released two albums that didn’t sell. They went to FAME Records Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama to record material for a third album of mostly blues and R&B music in 1968 but the new material was rejected by Liberty Records and the group broke up.
Duane then started doing sessions work for FAME Records where he continued to hone his skills and grow his reputation. He became the studio’s primary sessions guitarist and played for the likes of Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Percy Sledge and Clarence Carter to name a few. At the urging of former Otis Redding manager Phil Walden, Duane gave up sessions work to form his own band in 1969.
Duane first tapped Jai Johnny Johanson, also known as Jaimo, as his drummer who played for some of the groups with whom Duane had done sessions work. He then asked another drummer, long time friend Butch Trucks to join the band along with bassist Barry Oakley another long time friend with whom Duane played briefly in a band called The Second Coming. They added Second Coming’s guitarist Richard Betts to the lineup and convened a jam session which apparently cemented the group’s commitment but they were still without a lead singer. This problem was solved with the addition of brother Gregg whereupon they signed with Duane’s buddy Phil Walden and his upstart Capricorn Records label.
The Allman Brothers Band hit the road to work out their sound playing mostly in Florida and Georgia. Their self-titled debut album was recorded and then released in November of 1969 which garnered sales of less than 50,000. While not a rousing success, those who heard it were impressed. They continued touring and building their reputation with long jam sessions that were a hit with the growing crowds that began to follow them. Richard Betts's and Duane’s guitar battles were the highlight in those days and they were backed by a fantastic rhythm section.
Their second album in 1970, Idlewild South, was produced by Tom Dowd who had joined Capricorn as its chief producer. Dowd's resume included work with such artists as Chicago, Cream and Rod Stewart. Dowd’s influence in honing the band's sound and the band's growing reputation built on their live performances made the album a success. In March of 1971 the band played a series of shows at Fillmore East in New York City which were recorded. Some of the recordings became the source for their third album the now legendary At Fillmore East. The seven song double LP captured for the world the sound and performances that their loyal fans had come to love. It catapulted the band to international stardom and great critical acclaim. At the peak of this successful period, however, they received a mighty blow. The band's founder, Duane Allman, was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971.
At the time of Duane’s death the band was already working on their third album, Eat a Peach. They completed the album with Richard Betts playing all of the lead guitar parts and released it in February of 1972. The album was a blend of studio work and live tracks from the Fillmore Concerts and became their biggest seller to date reaching as high as number 5 on the charts.
The band decided not to replace Duane and instead added pianist Chuck Leavell to the group and after a period of understandable mourning began to work on their next album. But work on this album was also interrupted by tragedy when another founding member, bassist Barry Oakley, was killed in a motorcycle accident on a road very near where Duane had his fatal crash. Lamar Williams was recruited as the new bassist and the group continued to tour and work on the album. With long time producer Dowd no longer with Capricorn records and Richard Betts taking more creative control, their next album took on a more country rock sound. The album, called Brothers and Sisters, contained probably their most popular studio song Jessica which featured a magnificent piano solo by Leavell and Bett’s signature guitar strains. The album became their first number one and the more radio friendly single Ramblin’ Man reached as high as number two on the charts.
This marked the end of an era for The Allman Brothers Band and for many fans the end period. What was left of the band slowly began to go their separate ways particularly when Richard Betts and Gregg Allman started to do solo projects. Gregg’s personal life further fueled the band's demise which included two short term and infamous marriages to Cher during which Gregg “went Hollywood” and started neglecting the band. The entire band wasn’t present together for much of the production of Win, Lose or Draw especially Gregg who recorded all the vocals separately. Gregg also had a serious drug problem going during this period which culminated in him being involved in a federal drug case. In the case, Gregg testified against his personal road manager Scooter Herring who was charged with dealing narcotics. This led to Herring's conviction and in the minds of many of the group a betrayal of “one of the family”. Those members vowed to never work with Gregg again.
Leavell, Williams and Johanson formed the Group Sea Level and recorded four moderately successful albums with Capricorn Records. Trucks went on to study music at Florida State and started an experimental music group. Richard Betts formed Dickey Betts & Great Southern trying to use the same formula that made the Allman Brothers so successful but had only one album chart in the top 100. When Gregg came out of his drug and Cher stupor he recorded Playin' Up a Storm in 1977 with a completely new band.
The first regrouping of the band occurred in 1978 when Allman, Trucks and Jaimoe joined Dickey Betts & Great Southern in a surprise concert in New York’s Central Park. They reconstituted the band at that point bringing along Great Southern’s other guitarist Dan Toler for the ride. Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams however refused to come back. Tom Dowd returned as producer for the new album Enlightened Rogues. The album was respectable but the music trends had changed to disco, punk and then new wave relegating the new act to nostalgia. Their business affairs took a turn for the worse in late 1979 when Capricorn Records went bankrupt and the labels’ library was taken over by PolyGram Records. The Allman Brothers were then cut loose from their contract.
They next signed with Arista Records and continued to record but the output was unremarkable. The entire 80’s was basically a hiatus for the group but they were reinvigorated in 1989 when PolyGram Records decided to issue the four-CD box set Dreams. All of the band's work was now available on CD which brought back the old fans and introduced young music lovers to their work. The lineup which now included Allman, Betts, Trucks, Jaimoe, Warren Haynes (lead and slide guitar), Allan Woody on bass and Johnny Neel (piano and synthesizer) recorded and released Seven Turns for Epic Records in 1990. They got some of their best reviews in more than a decade and sales got the group back on their feet.
The lineup continues to change but they haven’t completely disbanded the act since. This new phase of their career can be categorized as as a renewal of their commitment to live shows and the improvisation that made them famous. Their new albums may be just a blip on the screen for most of us but they keep selling out concerts and pleasing all who are privileged to attend. During the 90's they performed more than 80 sold out shows at the Beacon Theater in New York alone.
1994 was a big year for the group making five live network appearances and performing 90 live shows which included their H.O.R.D.E tour and one of the best sets at Woodstock '94. That same year they were voted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility. 1996 saw the band win their first ever Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for a 16 minute improvisational arrangement of their popular song "Jessica". Also in 1996 the band added guitarist Jack Pearson to the line up when Warren Haynes and Allen Woody departed to work full time on their own project the band Gov't Mule. Pearson was a veteran who previously toured with the Gregg Allman Band and Delbert McClinton and was a founding member of another improvisational band Aquarium Rescue Unit. He gave them a creative boost co-writing with Gregg Allman one the groups new popular songs "Sailin' Cross the Devils Sea". In June of 1998 550 Music released Mycology · an Anthology which feature the best of the band's output from the 90's but included one previously unreleased track recorded live at the 1970 Atlanta Pop Festival. The song was "Every Hungry Woman" featuring founding members Duane Allman and Barry Oakley.
The 30th Anniversary Tour in 1999 saw the group welcome slide guitar prodigy Derek Trucks to the band who was a nephew of long time drummer Butch Trucks. He replaced Pearson who left to pursue solo interests. In the summer of 2000 Richard Betts was asked to take leave from the band because of creative differences with the group and has not returned.
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