The Road Goes on Forever: RIP Gregg Allman

billboard.com

by Tom Caswell: 

https://tomcaswell.net/2017/05/27/the-road-goes-on-forever-rip-gregg-allman/

I’m filled with great sadness as I write this knowing that one of my musical heroes, Gregg Allman, has passed away. The Allman Brothers Band are one of my favourite bands of all time and the world has certainly lost a visionary.

Gregg’s work with The Allman Brothers Band, a band formed by his older brother Duane in 1969, is exceptional on every level. And it certainly wouldn’t be out of the question to call him one of the greatest singers of all time. When you listen back to live recordings of the Allman Brothers from 1970/1971 it’s hard to imagine that experienced, raw and steady voice is coming from a 24 year old. But it is, it was. His talent put him ahead of the pack as a singer and as a songwriter he was excellent as well.

Gregg leaves behind a wealth of material that includes twelve studio albums with The Allman Brothers, six studio albums as a solo artist, and numerous live albums. Some of his most well known songs include Dreams, Melissa, Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’, Queen Of Hearts, Wasted Words, Come And Go Blues and Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More to name just a few. Even though The Allman Brothers Band would go through numerous lineup changes over the years, starting in 1971 after Duane’s death, Gregg’s influence remained and lasted throughout every incarnation of the band right up until their last show in 2014.

One of Gregg’s finest songs is Midnight Rider which was released on the second Allman Brothers studio album Idlewild South in 1970. I don’t think there any any words to describe how great this song, it’s best just to listen to it.

When you look back at certain decades there are always a number of musicians or bands that stand out over the rest, the poster bands for the decade. The 60’s include The Beatles, Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The 70’s include Eric Clapton, The Rolling Stones and The Allman Brothers Band. Gregg Allman was at the forefront of the success the band acquired with his songwriting, singing and hammond organ playing being a major part of some of the best music ever recorded and played.

I end my post with one of my all time favourite performances by anyone, ever. An acoustic version of Come And Go Blues which Gregg performed on the TV show Flo & Eddie. The first time I heard this I was blown away and every time I listen to it I get goosebumps. The world has lost a music legend.

RIP Gregg Allman. 8th December 1947 – 27th May 2017.

VIDEO: Eric Clapton’s Favorite Guitar Solo: Duane Allman on Wilson Pickett’s 1968 Cover of the Beatles’ ‘Hey Jude’

by Open Culture: http://www.openculture.com/2013/08/eric-claptons-favorite-guitar-solo.html

Ask a group of guitarists to name their favorite guitar solo, and there’s a pretty good chance someone will mention Eric Clapton’s solo on the live recording of “Crossroads,” from Cream’s 1968 Wheel’s of Fire album.

So then, whose solo does Eric Clapton like? On more than one occasion he has singled out Duane Allman’s breakthrough performance on Wilson Pickett’s R & B cover of the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

In late 1968 Allman was about 22 years old and had not yet formed the Allman Brothers Band. Eager to make a name for himself, he showed up at Rick Hall’s now-legendary FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to offer his services as a session guitarist.

Hall told Allman he already had more guitar players than he could use. Allman asked if he could just hang around the studio and help out if the need should ever arise.

“I mean, this was Duane,” Hall said to Allman’s biographer Randy Poe. “He was hell-bent for stardom and nothing was going to stop him.”

Hall let the young guitarist hang around, and before long he was playing on a few sessions with Clarence Carter. Hall liked what he heard, and Allman’s crucial moment arrived shortly afterward, when the former Stax recording artist Wilson Pickett showed up at the studio unexpectedly.

As Poe writes in his book Skydog: The Duane Allman Story

“Pickett came into the studio,” says Hall, “and I said, ‘We don’t have anything to cut.’ We didn’t have a song. Duane was there, and he came up with an idea. By this time he’d kind of broken the ice and become my guy. So Duane said, ‘Why don’t we cut “Hey Jude”?’ I said, ‘That’s the most preposterous thing I ever heard. It’s insanity. We’re gonna cover the Beatles? That’s crazy!’ And Pickett said, ‘No, we’re not gonna do it.’ I said, ‘Their single’s gonna be Number 1. I mean, this is the biggest group in the world!’ And Duane said, ‘That’s exactly why we should do it - because [the Beatles single] will be Number 1 and they’re so big. The fact that we would cut the song with a black artist will get so much attention, it’ll be an automatic smash.’ That made all the sense in the world to me. So I said, ‘Well, okay. Let’s do it.’

The original Beatles version of “Hey Jude” is over seven minutes long. Pickett was determined to keep his version shorter, to make it suitable for radio play.

At four minutes long, it was still more than a minute longer than the average popular song from that era. Most of the extra time is taken up by Allman’s explosive rock and roll-style guitar solo.

“From the moment Duane plays the first lick ten seconds into the coda,” writes Poe, “until the song fades out over a minute later, it is entirely his show. The background vocalists are singing those familiar ‘na-na-na-na’s’ - but it’s all for naught. Rick Hall has pushed them so far down in the mix, they are merely ambiance. Absolutely nothing matters but Duane’s guitar.”

When it was over, everyone rushed to hear the playback. Hall was so excited he picked up the telephone and called Atlantic Records producer and executive Jerry Wexler, who had sent Pickett to Muscle Shoals. Writes Poe:

Hall cranked up the volume, held the receiver near the speakers, and played the recording all the way through. The guitar player, naturally, blew Jerry Wexler away. “Who is he?” Wexler asked. Hall told Wexler that Pickett called him Sky Man. He said that Sky Man was a hippie from Florida who had talked Pickett into cutting the tune. Wexler persisted. “Who the hell is he?” “Name’s Duane Allman,” Rick replied.

Before Pickett christened Allman “Sky Man,” the guitarist already had a nickname he was fond of: “Dog.” In keeping with it, he always wore a dog collar wrapped around his right boot, like a spur. So the two nicknames were combined, and Allman was known thereafter as “Skydog.”

Although Pickett recorded “Hey Jude” against his will, he liked the result so much he made it the title song of his next album.

And right about the time the Beatles’ version was coming down after nine weeks at number one on the American charts, Pickett’s version started going up. It peaked at number 15 on the R & B chart and number 23 on the pop chart.

When Clapton first heard Allman’s solo on his car radio, he reportedly pulled over to the side of the road to listen. “I drove home and called Atlantic Records immediately,” Clapton said. “I had to know who that was playing guitar and I had to know now.”

Listen to the full song:

Related Content:

Here Comes The Sun: The Lost Guitar Solo by George Harrison
Eric Clapton’s Isolated Guitar Track From the Classic Beatles Song, ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’ (1968)
Guitar Stories: Mark Knopfler on the Six Guitars That Shaped His Career

VIDEO: The Allman Brothers Live at the Atlanta International Pop Festival on 5 July 1970

Hi Readers,

This is absolutely brilliant. It's the first time I've heard this! It's the full concert audio recording of The ALLMAN BROTHERS Band live @ The 'Atlanta International Pop Festival' in Byron, Georgia (GA) on July 5th 1970. This is some of the best Duane Allman I have ever heard! If this doesn't convince anyone of his genius, I don't know what will!

Published on YouTube by LanLanHu

Track listing and time code posted below

- 02:02 Introduction
- 01:10 Don't Keep Me Wondering
- 05:14 Statesboro Blues
- 09:40 In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed
- 22:53 Stormy Monday
- 31:57 Whipping Post
- 46:20 Mountain Jam (Finale)

VIDEO: The Allman Brothers Band: "Dreams" live at S.U.N.Y. at Stonybrook

Hi all,

Here's a great version of "Dreams" by one of my favourites att S.U.N.Y. at Stonybrook, NY 9/19/71.
Uploaded to YouTube by smokeyman1