Both brothers were born in Nashville Tennessee, Duane in 1946 and his younger brother Gregg in 1947, the sons of an US army sergeant who himself met a bizarre and untimely end when he was murdered following a robbery attempt by an ex-serviceman to whom he had given a lift in his car.
The band quickly achieved success and were touring and recording prolifically in the late 60's and early 70's. A landmark in their career was the release of the "Live At Fillmore East" album in 1971. This is included in my list of fine live albums which includes the Who's "Live At Leeds", Thin Lizzy's "Live and Dangerous" and Humble Pie's "Rockin' The Fillmore."
It was, sadly, whilst they were enjoying success at such a level that their first tragedy occurred. Duane Allman was a keen motorcyclist and owned a Harley Davidson Sportster on which he was travelling at high speed on October 29, 1971 when he reportedly struck a truck and sustained serious injuries from which he died shortly afterwards.
After the release of the band's 2nd album, "Idlewild South," Duane had joined forces with Eric Clapton to record the classic "Layla and Other Love Stories" album under the guise of Derek and the Dominos. Clapton was a great admirer of Duane's playing and at one point had invited him to join the Dominos permanently - an invitation which Duane declined.
There is a popular myth that Lynyrd Skynrd's "Freebird" was written about Duane but this is not true, the song having been written some time prior to the accident, but the late Ronnie Van Zant, Skynyrd's vocalist, often dedicated the song to Duane during live performances.
The second tragedy to affect the band, who had decided to continue after Duane's death, was the death on November 11, 1972, of bassist Berry Oakley in extraordinarily similar circumstances to those of Duane's sad demise. Berry died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident in a location very close to, but not as has often been reported, the same as that where Duane was killed. He was the same age as Duane when he died, a mere 24 years.
The third part in the triple tragedy concerned Berry's replacement, bassist Lamar Williams. Lamar stayed with the band until it ceased to function in 1976, (although it subsequently reformed and is still active to this day), and died from lung cancer in 1981 at the age of only 34. Lamar had served in Vietnam and had allegedly been exposed to "Agent Orange" a chemical weapon, which was considered by medical staff to be a contributory factor in his death.
RockBottoms Recommended Reading:
Skydog, The Duane Allman Story
Skydog is the nickname by which Duane Allman was known and was reputedly an amalgamation of "Skyman" as he was dubbed by soul man Wilson Pickett for whom Duane had played as a session musician and "Dog" as he was often called by friends in reference to his long hair and sideburns.
This paperback book, not currently available in Kindle format, is written by Randy Poe, past president of Leiber & Stoller Music Publishing and former executive director of the Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York.
The book covers Duane's life and that of the Allman Brothers Band.
My Cross To Bear
Duane Allman's younger brother, the six-times married Gregg Allman, tells the story of the band and his own eventful life including his marriage to Cher and his relationship with his mega-talented brother.The picture link is for the paperback, follow this one for the Kindle download.
You can find my recommended listening in the "Celebrated RockBottoms Store" but I really must insist that you get a copy of the 1971 Fillmore performance on your MP3 player and if you only get the chance to listen to one track on your way to the office, "whipping post" gets my vote every time. here's the link to the MP3, its also still available on CD - visit the store.
Live At The Fillmore East - The Allman Brothers, MP3 Download.
Compatible with MP3 Players including iPod®, iTunes, and Windows Media Player.
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