Gregg Allman

Template:Use American English Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Gregory LeNoir Allman (December 8, 1947 – May 27, 2017) was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Brothers Band fused it with rock music, jazz, and country. He wrote several of the band's most popular songs, including "Whipping Post", "Melissa", and "Midnight Rider". Allman also had a successful solo career, releasing seven studio albums. He was born and spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before relocating to Daytona Beach, Florida and then Macon, Georgia.

He and his brother Duane Allman formed the Allman Brothers Band in 1969, which reached mainstream success with their 1971 live album At Fillmore East, but shortly thereafter, Duane was killed in a motorcycle crash. The band continued, and released Brothers and Sisters, which became their most successful album, in 1973. Allman began a solo career with Laid Back the same year. He gained some additional fame for his 1975 to 1979 marriage to pop star Cher. He had an unexpected late-career hit with his cover of the song "I'm No Angel" in 1987, and his seventh solo album, Low Country Blues (2011), saw the highest chart positions of his career. Throughout his life, Allman struggled with alcohol and substance use, which formed the basis of his memoir My Cross to Bear (2012). His final album, Southern Blood, was released posthumously on September 8, 2017.

Allman performed with a Hammond organ and guitar, and was recognized for his soulful voice. For his work in music, Allman was referred to as a Southern rock pioneer<ref>Sources:

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite magazine</ref> and received numerous awards, including one Grammy Award; he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Georgia Music Hall of Fame. His distinctive voice placed him 70th in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".<ref name="RS Singer">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Early life

File:Lebanon tennessee city hall.jpg

Allman and his brother Duane attended Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee in their childhood.

Gregory LeNoir Allman was born on December 8, 1947, at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee to Geraldine Robbins Allman (1917–2015) and Willis Turner Allman (1918–1949).Template:Sfn The couple had met during World War II in Raleigh, North Carolina when Allman was on leave from the U.S. Army, and were later married. Their first child, Duane Allman, was born in Nashville in November 20,1946. On December 26, 1949, Willis offered a ride to a hitchhiker, Michael Robert "Buddy" Green (1923-2024), an Army veteran, who shot and killed him during an armed robbery in Norfolk, Virginia. Green was captured, convicted, sentenced and paroled in 1972.<ref name="HR15">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Geraldine moved to Nashville with her two sons and never remarried.Template:Sfn Lacking money to support her children, she enrolled in college to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA)—state laws at the time, according to her son, required students to live on-campus.<ref name="RS73">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

As a result, Gregg and his older brother were sent to Castle Heights Military Academy in nearby Lebanon.Template:Sfn A young Gregg interpreted these actions as evidence of his mother's dislike for him, though he later came to understand the reality: "She was actually sacrificing everything she possibly could—she was working around the clock, getting by just by a hair, so as to not send us to an orphanage, which would have been a living hell."Template:Sfn While his brother adapted to his surroundings with a defiant attitude, Allman felt largely depressed at the school. With little to do, he studied often and developed an interest in medicine—had he not gone into music, he hoped to become a dentist.<ref name="SL07" /> He was rarely hazed at Castle Heights as his brother protected him, but often suffered beatings from instructors when he received poor grades.Template:Sfn The brothers returned to Nashville upon their mother's graduation, and moved to Daytona Beach, Florida in 1959.<ref name="RS73" /> Allman would later recall two separate events in his life that led to his interest in music. In 1960, the two brothers attended a concert in Nashville with Jackie Wilson headlining alongside Otis Redding, B.B. King, and Patti LaBelle.<ref name="SL07">Template:Cite news</ref> Allman was also exposed to music through Jimmy Banes, an intellectually disabled neighbor of his grandmother in Nashville, who introduced him to the guitar.Template:Sfn

Gregg worked as a paper boy to afford a Silvertone guitar, which he purchased at a Sears when he saved up enough funds.<ref name="RS73" /> Like his brother, he was left-handed, but played the guitar right-handed. He and his brother often fought to play the instrument, though there was "no question that music brought" the two together.Template:Sfn In Daytona, they joined a YMCA group called the Y Teens, their first experience performing music with others.Template:Sfn He and Duane returned to Castle Heights in their teen years, where they formed a band, the Misfits.<ref name="PLEASE">Template:Cite book</ref> Despite this, he still felt "lonesome and out of place", and quit the academy.Template:Sfn He returned to Daytona Beach and pursued music further, and the duo formed another band, the Shufflers, in 1963.Template:Sfn He attended high school at Seabreeze High School, where he graduated in 1965.Template:Sfn However, he grew undisciplined in his studies as his interests diverged: "Between the women and the music, school wasn't a priority anymore."Template:Sfn

Musical beginnings

First bands (1960–1968)

The two Allman brothers began meeting various musicians in the Daytona Beach area. They met a man named Floyd Miles, and they began to jam with his band, the Houserockers. "I would just sit there and study Floyd ... I studied how he phrased his songs, how he got the words out, and how the other guys sang along with him", Gregg would later recall.Template:Sfn They later formed their first "real" band, the Escorts, which performed a mix of top 40 and R&B music at clubs around town.Template:Sfn Duane, who took the lead vocal role on early demos, encouraged his younger brother to sing instead.Template:Sfn He and Duane often spent all of their money on records, as they attempted to learn songs from them. The group performed constantly as music became their entire focus; Gregg missed his high school graduation because he was performing that evening.Template:Sfn In his autobiography, Gregg recalls listening to Nashville R&B station WLAC at night and discovering artists such as Muddy Waters, who later became central to his musical evolution.Template:Sfn He avoided being drafted into the Vietnam War by intentionally shooting himself in the foot.Template:Sfn

The Escorts evolved into the Allman Joys, the brothers' first successful band. After a successful summer run locally, they hit the road in fall 1965 for a series of performances throughout the Southeast; their first show outside Daytona was at the Stork Club in Mobile, Alabama, where they were booked for 22 weeks straight.<ref name="AL12">Template:Cite news</ref> Afterwards, they were booked at the Sahara Club in nearby Pensacola, Florida, for several weeks.<ref name="PS09">Template:Cite news</ref> Allman later regarded Pensacola as "a real turning point in my life", as it was where he learned how to capture audiences and about stage presence.Template:Sfn He also received his first Vox keyboard there, and learned how to play it over the ensuing tour.Template:Sfn By the following summer, they were able to book time at a studio in Nashville, where they recorded several songs, aided by a plethora of drugs. These recordings were later released as Early Allman in 1973, to Allman's dismay.Template:Sfn He soon grew tired of performing covers and began writing original compositions.Template:Sfn They settled in St. Louis, Missouri for a time, where in the spring of 1967 they began performing alongside Johnny Sandlin and Paul Hornsby, among others, under various names. They considered disbanding, but Bill McEuen, manager of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, convinced the band to relocate to Los Angeles, giving them the funds to do so.Template:Sfn {{#invoke:Listen|main}} He arranged a recording contract with Liberty Records in June 1967,Template:Sfn and they began to record an album under the new name the Hour Glass, suggested by their producer, Dallas Smith. Recording was a difficult experience; "the music had no life to it—it was poppy, preprogrammed shit", Allman felt.Template:Sfn Though they considered themselves sellouts, they needed money to live.Template:Sfn At concerts, they declined to play anything off their debut album, released that October, instead opting to play the blues.Template:Sfn Such gigs were sparse, however, as Liberty only allowed one performance per month.Template:Sfn After some personnel changes, they recorded their second album, Power of Love, released in March 1968. It contained more original songs by Allman, though they still felt constricted by its process. The band broke up when Duane explicitly told off executives at Liberty. They threatened to freeze the band, so they would be unable to record for any other label for seven years.Template:Sfn Allman stayed behind to appease the label, giving them the rights to a solo album. The rest of the band mocked Allman, viewing him as too scared to leave and return to the South.Template:Sfn Meanwhile, Duane began doing session work at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he began putting together a new band. He phoned his brother with the proposition of joining the new band—which would have two guitarists and two drummers. With his deal at Liberty fulfilled, he drove to Jacksonville, Florida, in March 1969 to jam with the new band.Template:Sfn He called the birth of the group "one of the finer days in my life ... I was starting to feel like I belonged to something again."Template:Sfn

The Allman Brothers Band and mainstream success

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Formation, touring, and Duane's death (1969–1971)

The Allman Brothers Band moved to Macon, Georgia,Template:Sfn and forged a strong brotherhood, spending countless hours rehearsing, consuming psychedelic drugs, and hanging out in Rose Hill Cemetery.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In addition to Gregg, the band included Duane, Dickey Betts on guitar, Berry Oakley on bass, and Jaimoe and Butch Trucks on drums.<ref name="AM"/> The group remade blues numbers like "Trouble No More" and "One Way Out", in addition to improvising jams.Template:Sfn Gregg, who had struggled to write in the past, became the band's main songwriter, composing songs such as "Whipping Post" and "Midnight Rider".Template:Sfn The group's self-titled debut album was released in November 1969 through Atco and Capricorn Records,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> but suffered from poor sales.Template:Sfn The band played continuously in 1970, performing over 300 dates on the road,Template:Sfn which contributed to a larger following.Template:Sfn Their second record, Idlewild South,Template:Sfn was issued in September 1970, and also received a muted commercial response.Template:Sfn

File:Duane Allman.jpg

Allman's elder brother Duane, who was killed in a motorcycle crash in 1971

Their fortunes began to change over the course of 1971, where the band's average earnings doubled.Template:Sfn "We realized that the audience was a big part of what we did, which couldn't be duplicated in a studio. A lightbulb finally went off; we needed to make a live album", said Gregg.Template:Sfn At Fillmore East, recorded at the Fillmore East in New York City, was released in July 1971.Template:Sfn At Fillmore East peaked at number thirteen on BillboardTemplate:'s Top Pop Albums chart, and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America that October, becoming their commercial and artistic breakthrough.Template:Sfn Although suddenly very wealthy and successful, much of the band and its entourage now struggled with addiction to numerous drugs; they all agreed to quit heroin, but cocaine remained a problem.Template:Sfn

Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971, in Macon.Template:Sfn At his funeral, Gregg performed "Melissa", which was his brother's favorite song.Template:Sfn As the band took some time apart to process their loss, At Fillmore East became a major success domestically.

Mainstream success and fame (1972–1976)

After Duane's death, the band held a meeting on their future; it was clear all wanted to continue, and after a short period, the band returned to the road.Template:Sfn They completed their third studio album, Eat a Peach, that winter, which raised each member's spirits.Template:Sfn Eat a Peach was released the following February, and it became the band's second hit album, shipping gold and peaking at number four on BillboardTemplate:'s album chart.<ref name="AM" /> The band purchased 432 acres of land in Juliette, Georgia, which became a group hangout.Template:Sfn Berry Oakley, however, was visibly suffering from Allman's death,Template:Sfn and in November 1972 he too was killed in a motorcycle crash.Template:Sfn {{#invoke:Listen|main}} The band unanimously decided to carry on, and enlisted Lamar Williams on bass and Chuck Leavell on piano. The band began recording Brothers and Sisters, their follow-up album, and Betts became the group's de facto leader during the recording process.<ref name="AM.1" /> Meanwhile, after some internal disagreements, Allman began recording a solo album, which he titled Laid Back. The sessions for both albums often overlapped and its creation caused tension within the rest of the band.Template:Sfn Both albums were released in late 1973, with Brothers and Sisters cementing the Allman Brothers' place among the biggest rock bands of the 1970s. "Ramblin' Man", Betts' country-infused number, rose to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and gave the band their biggest hit.<ref name="AM">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The group returned to touring, and played arenas and stadiums almost solely. Privately, the group was dealing with miscommunication and spiraling drug problems.<ref name="AM" />Template:Sfn In 1974, the band was regularly making $100,000 per show, and was renting the Starship, a customized Boeing 720B used by Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.Template:Sfn

Band member relationships became increasingly frustrated, amplified by heavy drug and alcohol abuse.Template:Sfn In January 1975, Allman began a relationship with pop star Cher—which made him more "famous for being famous than for his music", according to biographer Alan Paul.Template:Sfn The sessions that produced 1975's Win, Lose or Draw, the last album by the original Allman Brothers Band, were disjointed and inconsistent.Template:Sfn Upon its release, it was considered subpar and sold less than its predecessor; the band later remarked that they were "embarrassed" by the album.Template:Sfn Though their relationships were fraying, the Allman Brothers Band went on tour for some of the biggest crowds of their career.Template:Sfn Allman later pointed to a benefit for presidential candidate Jimmy Carter as the only real "high point" in an otherwise "rough, rough tour".Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The "breaking point" came when Allman testified in the trial of security man Scooter Herring, who was arrested and soon convicted on five counts of conspiracy to distribute cocaine.<ref name="AM" /> Bandmates considered Allman a "snitch", and he received death threats, leading to law enforcement protection.Template:Sfn Herring received a 75-year prison sentence, but he only served eighteen months.Template:Sfn The band refused to communicate with Allman after the ordeal and finally broke up.Template:Sfn Leavell, Williams, and Jaimoe continued playing together in Sea Level, Betts formed Great Southern, and Allman founded the Gregg Allman Band.Template:Sfn

Mid-career and struggles

Marriages, breakups, and music (1975–1981)

File:Cher and Gregg Allman (cropped).jpg

Allman with then-wife Cher in 1976

Allman married Cher in June 1975, and the two lived in Hollywood during their years together as tabloid favorites.<ref name="HR15" /> Their marriage produced one son, Elijah Blue Allman, who was born in July 1976.Template:Sfn He recorded his second solo album, Playin' Up a Storm, with the Gregg Allman Band, and it was released in May 1977. He also worked on a collaborative album with Cher titled Two the Hard Way, which, upon its release, was a massive failure.<ref name="AM.1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The couple went to Europe to tour in support of both albums,<ref name="gruber">Template:Cite news</ref> though the crowd reception was mixed.Template:Sfn With a combination of Allman Brothers fans and Cher fans, fights often broke out in venues, which led Cher to cancel the tour.Template:Sfn Turmoil began to overwhelm their relationship, and the two divorced in 1979.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Allman returned to Daytona Beach to stay with his mother, spending the majority of his time partying, chasing women, and touring with the Nighthawks, a blues band.Template:Sfn

The Allman Brothers Band reunited in 1978.Template:Sfn Allman remembered that each member had his own reasons for rejoining, though he surmised it was a combination of displeasure with how things ended, missing each other, and a need for money.Template:Sfn The band's reunion album, Enlightened Rogues, was released in February 1979 and was a mild commercial success.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Betts's lawyer, Steve Massarsky, began managing the group,Template:Sfn and led the band to sign with Arista, who pushed the band to "modernize" their sound.Template:Sfn Drugs remained a problem with the band, particularly for Betts and Allman.Template:Sfn The band again grew apart, replacing Jaimoe with new guitarist Dan Toler's brother Frankie.Template:Sfn The band considered their post-reunion albums—Reach for the Sky (1980) and Brothers of the Road (1981)—"embarrassing", and subsequently broke up in 1982.Template:Sfn

Downtime, a surprise hit, and another reformation (1982–1990)

Allman spent much of the 1980s adrift and living in Sarasota, Florida with friends.Template:Sfn David "Rook" Goldflies, Allman's bass player, managed to bring him to Kenny Veenstra's Progressive Music Studios in Tampa. There he recorded vocals on a number of Goldflies' songs. Though Allman had never heard the cuts, he sang them perfectly... one line at a time... (the producer promising beer and pizza after he finished the vocals). His alcohol abuse was at one of its worst points, with Allman consuming "a minimum of a fifth of vodka a day."Template:Sfn He felt the local police pursued him heavily; during this time, he was arrested and charged with a DUI.Template:Sfn While he did not consider himself "washed up", he noted in his autobiography that he kept a "fear of everybody forgetting about you."Template:Sfn Southern rock had faded from view and electronic music formed much of the pop music of the decade. "There was hardly anybody playing live music, and those who did were doing it for not much money, in front of some die-hard old hippies in real small clubs", he later recalled.Template:Sfn Nevertheless, he reformed the Gregg Allman Band and toured nationwide.Template:Sfn

By 1986, having grown tired of financial instability, Allman approached Betts for a co-headlining tour, a sort-of Allman Brothers reunion.Template:Sfn After recording several demos, Allman was offered a recording contract by Epic Records.Template:Sfn His third solo release, I'm No Angel (1987), sold well; its title track became a surprise hit on radio. Allman released another solo album the following year, Just Before the Bullets Fly, though it did not sell as well as its predecessor. In the late 1980s, he moved to Los Angeles.Template:Sfn He married Danielle Galiana in what he dubbed a midlife crisis.Template:Sfn<ref name="Thompson2020">Template:Cite book</ref> The marriage began with Allman overdosing—"so [it] started off with a bang", he said.Template:Sfn He dabbled in acting starting in 1989, taking several small parts. His largest (and final) role was criminal Will Gaines in the 1991 crime drama Rush.

The Allman Brothers Band celebrated its twentieth anniversary in 1989, and the band reunited once more for a summer tour, with Jaimoe again on drums.Template:Sfn They featured guitarist Warren Haynes and pianist Johnny Neel, both from the Dickey Betts Band, and bassist Allen Woody.Template:Sfn The band returned to the studio with longtime producer Tom Dowd for 1990's Seven Turns, which was considered a return to form.<ref name="AM" />Template:Sfn "Good Clean Fun" and "Seven Turns" each became big hits on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. The addition of Haynes and Woody had "reenergized" the ensemble.Template:Sfn

Reforming the band and breaking addictions (1991–2000)

The newly reformed Allman Brothers began touring heavily,Template:Sfn which helped build a new fan base: Neel left the group and the band added percussionist Marc Quiñones, formerly of Spyro Gyra, the following year.Template:Sfn They recorded two more studio albums—Shades of Two Worlds (1992) and Where It All Begins. In 1993 his youngest daughter Layla Brooklyn Allman was born while Gregg was living in Novato, California. When his relationship with Shelby Blackburn ended, Layla and Shelby moved back to Los Angeles. Allman's older daughter, Island, came to live with him in Novato, and despite early struggles, they eventually grew very close.Template:Sfn

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in January 1995; Allman was severely inebriated and could barely make it through his acceptance speech.Template:Sfn Seeing the ceremony broadcast on television later, Allman was mortified, providing a catalyst for his final, successful attempt to quit alcohol and substance abuse. He hired two in-home nurses that switched twelve-hour shifts to help him through the process.Template:Sfn

For much of the 1990s, Allman lived in Marin County, California, spending his free time with close friends and riding his motorcycle.Template:Sfn He recorded a fifth solo album, Searching for Simplicity, which was quietly released on 550 Music in 1997.<ref name="AM.1" /> Despite positive developments in his personal life, relationships began declining in the band yet again.Template:Sfn Haynes and Woody left to focus on Gov't Mule, feeling as though a break was imminent.Template:Sfn The group recruited Oteil Burbridge of the Aquarium Rescue Unit to replace Woody on bass, and Jack Pearson on guitar.Template:Sfn Concerns arose over the increasing loudness of Allman Brothers shows, which were largely centered on Betts.Template:Sfn "It had ceased to be a band—everything had to be based around what Dickey was playing", said Allman.Template:Sfn Pearson, struggling with tinnitus, left as a result.Template:Sfn Butch Trucks phoned his nephew, Derek Trucks, to join the band for their thirtieth anniversary tour.Template:Sfn Anger boiled over within the group towards Betts, which led to all original members sending him a letter, informing him of their intentions to tour without him.Template:Sfn All involved contended that the break was temporary, but Betts responded by hiring a lawyer and suing the group, which led to a permanent divorce.Template:Sfn That August, Woody was found dead in a hotel room in New York,Template:Sfn which hit Allman particularly hard.Template:Sfn In 2001, Haynes rejoined the band,Template:Sfn setting the stage for over a decade of stability within the group.

Later life

Touring and health problems (2000–2011)

File:Gregg Allman at the Beacon Theatre, NYC.jpg

Allman during the Allman Brothers Band's annual residency at the Beacon Theatre in New York in 2009

Allman moved to Richmond Hill, Georgia, in 2000, purchasing five acres on the Belfast River.<ref name="cs11">Template:Cite news</ref> The last incarnation of the Allman Brothers Band was well-regarded among fans and the general public, and remained stable and productive.<ref name="AM" /> The band released its final studio album, Hittin' the Note (2003), to critical acclaim.<ref name=rs>Serpick, Evan (2001). The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1136 pp. First edition, 2001.</ref> Allman co-wrote many songs on the record with Haynes, and regarded it as his favorite album by the group since their earliest days. The band continued to tour throughout the 2000s, remaining a top touring act, regularly attracting more than 20,000 fans.<ref name="AM" /> The decade closed with a successful fortieth anniversary celebration at the Beacon Theatre, where the band would hold residencies most years during their reunion.Template:Sfn In 2014, the Allman Brothers Band performed their final concerts, as Haynes and Derek Trucks desired to depart the group.<ref name="RS-Haynes-Trucks">Doyle, Patrick (January 8, 2014). "Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks Leaving Allman Brothers Band" Template:Webarchive, Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 8, 2014.</ref><ref name="cbs">Template:Cite news</ref>

Allman struggled with health problems during the last years of his life. He was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 2007, which he attributed to a dirty tattoo needle.Template:Sfn By the next year, three tumors were discovered within his liver.Template:Sfn He went on a waiting list and after five months, he underwent a successful liver transplant in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2011, Allman went public about his battle with hepatitis C. He headlined Merck and the American Liver Foundation's "Tune In to Hep C Campaign" to raise awareness and urge baby boomers to get tested and treated.<ref>Sharon Tanenbaum, "Gregg Allman: Living With Chronic Hepatitis C", "Everyday Health", December 13, 2011</ref> As part of Tune In to Hep C, The Allman Brothers Band headlined a hepatitis C fundraiser and awareness concert at the Beacon Theatre in New York. The concert raised $250,000 to benefit the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable and the American Liver Foundation for education and awareness efforts.<ref>American Liver Foundation Press Release "Tune In to Hep C Benefit Concert Raises Over $250,000 for Community-Based Groups Supporting People with Chronic Hepatitis C", American Liver Foundation, July 28, 2011</ref> The National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable in October 2017 created the Gregg Allman Hepatitis C Leadership Award – an annual award to posthumously honor Allman and others who work on behalf of people living with hepatitis C. Michael Lehman, Allman's longtime manager, accepted the award on his behalf.<ref>News via Gregg Allman's Official Website, "Gregg to be honored with Memorial Advocacy Award", GreggAllman.com, October 19, 2017</ref>

Allman's seventh album, Low Country Blues, was produced by T-Bone Burnett. Upon its release in January 2011, it represented Allman's highest-ever chart peak in the U.S., debuting at number five.<ref name="US-albums">Template:Cite magazine</ref> He promoted the album heavily in Europe, until he had to cancel the rest of the trip due to an upper respiratory infection.Template:Sfn This led to lung surgery later in 2011,<ref name="cs11" /> and rehab in 2012 for addiction following his treatments.Template:Sfn That year, Allman released his memoir, My Cross to Bear, which was 30 years in the making.<ref name="dn12">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2014, a tribute concert was held celebrating his career; it was later released as All My Friends: Celebrating the Songs & Voice of Gregg Allman.<ref name="R14" />

Final years and death (2012–2017)

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Allman performing in 2011

After the dissolution of the Allman Brothers, Allman kept busy performing music with his solo band, releasing the live album Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA in 2015.<ref name="wsj15">Template:Cite news</ref> In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from Mercer University in Macon, presented by former President Jimmy Carter.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, his health problems remained; he had atrial fibrillation, and though he kept it private, his liver cancer had returned. "He kept it very private because he wanted to continue to play music until he couldn't", his manager Michael Lehman said.<ref name="ct17">Template:Cite news</ref> He attempted to keep a light schedule at the advice of doctors, who warned that too many performances might amplify his conditions.<ref name="R14">Template:Cite news</ref> His last concert took place in Atlanta at his own Laid Back Festival along with ZZ Top at Lakewood Amphitheatre on October 29, 2016<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (the 45th anniversary of his brother's death), and he continued to cancel concerts citing "serious health issues".<ref name="ct17" /> He denied reports that he had entered hospice care, but was resting at home on doctor's orders.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Allman died at his home in Richmond Hill, Georgia, on May 27, 2017, due to complications from liver cancer<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">Template:Cite magazine</ref> at the age of 69.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> His funeral took place at Snow's Memorial Chapel in Macon on June 3, and was attended by once-estranged bandmate Dickey Betts, his ex-wife Cher, and former President Carter, among others. According to Rolling Stone, the mourners dressed casually in jeans per Allman's request, and "hundreds of fans, many wearing Allman Brothers shirts and listening to the band's music, lined the route along the funeral procession."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, beside his brother Duane, and fellow band member Berry Oakley.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Before his death, Allman recorded his last album, Southern Blood, with producer Don Was at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The album was recorded with his then-current backing band.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The album was released on September 8, 2017,<ref name="AP">Template:Cite news</ref> and received critical acclaim.<ref name="MC">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In My Cross to Bear, Allman reflected on his life and career:

Music is my life's blood. I love music, I love to play good music, and I love to play music for people who appreciate it. And when it's all said and done, I'll go to my grave and my brother will greet me, saying, "Nice work, little brother—you did alright." I must have said this a million times, but if I died today, I have had me a blast.Template:Sfn{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

— {{#if:|, in }}Template:Comma separated entries

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Musical style and songwriting

{{#invoke:Listen|main}} Allman's style was rooted in rhythm and blues music. He characterized his work with the Allman Brothers Band as "playing some blues with some jazz mixed in."Template:Sfn He was introduced to blues music through musician and childhood friend Floyd Miles,Template:Sfn who later toured with Allman as a part of his solo band.<ref name="AMG">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He also gave him advice on how to sing from his stomach, as opposed to his chest. Allman was inspired by "Little Milton" Campbell, who "inspired me all my life to get my voice crisper, get my diaphragm harder, use less air, and just spit it out. He taught me to be absolutely sure of every note you hit, and to hit it solid."Template:Sfn After his death, many outlets credited Allman as among the greatest white blues vocalists of his time.<ref>Sources crediting Allman as a "white blues singer":

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite magazine
• Template:Cite news</ref> Many close to Allman disputed this, with son Devon Allman commenting, "My dad didn't see color. ... I know people mean well when they say the best white blues singer, but I say take white off of there, because he was just one of the best ever. He just channeled so much feeling."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Jaimoe called the label "straight bullshit. He's a great blues singer. A great singer, period."<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> An editorial published in The Roanoke Times questioned that while Allman could rightfully be considered a cultural appropriator, "Is that not the nature of music, or art in general, that it borrows from different cultures to create something new?"<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Likewise, a Newsweek tribute to Allman noted that "Ray Charles took grief for making a country and western album, too."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

As a songwriter, Allman wrote several famous songs, including "Whipping Post", "Melissa", and "Midnight Rider", which he dubbed the "song I'm most proud of in my career." He could be a very slow songwriter, writing only when inspiration struck. If the song was forced, he felt it could end up contrived. In My Cross to Bear, his 2012 memoir, he laid out his approach to songwriting: the first verse introduces a story, it is expounded upon in the second, and the third may serve as an epilogue.Template:Sfn Allman credited singer-songwriter John D. Loudermilk, whom he first met while touring with the Allman Joys, as an influence on his writing. "[He] taught me to let the song come to me, not to force it, not to put down a word just because it might rhyme or fit. He taught me to let the feeling come from your heart and go to your head."Template:Sfn Allman received the Songwriter Award from the Georgia Music Hall of Fame in the last year of his life.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On October 28, 2021, Sony Music Publishing announced it had signed a global agreement with Gregg Allman's estate to administer its catalog of songs. The deal covered many of Allman's compositions from his time as a member of the Allman Brothers Band, as well as songs written throughout his solo career.<ref>Template:Cite press release</ref>

Personal life

Allman was married seven times:

• He married Shelley Kay Jefts in 1971; they divorced the following year. They had a son, Devon.
• He married Janice Blair in 1973; they divorced in 1974. She is pictured on the sleeve of Laid Back.
• His most well-known relationship was with Cher, whom he married in 1975. They had a son, Elijah Blue, and divorced in 1979.
• He wed Julie Bindas in 1979; they had a daughter, Delilah Island, and divorced in 1981.
• He married Danielle Galiana in 1989; they divorced in 1994.
• His longest marriage was to Stacey Fountain, from 2001 to 2008—"seven out-of-sight years," he remarked.Template:Sfn
• In 2012, he announced his engagement to Shannon Williams, who was 40 years his junior.<ref name="abc7.com">Template:Cite news</ref> They were married in February 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In My Cross to Bear, he wrote that "Every woman I've ever had a relationship with has loved me for who they thought I was."Template:Sfn At the time of its writing, he noted that he only spoke to two out of his then-six ex-wives, including Cher.Template:Sfn

Allman had four children, three with various wives and one with another woman he had a relationship with:

• son Devon Allman (born 1972), lead singer of Honeytribe and The Allman Betts Band, from his marriage to Shelley Kay Jefts;
• son Elijah Blue Allman (born 1976), lead singer of Deadsy, from his marriage to Cher;
• daughter Delilah Island Allman (born 1980) from his marriage to Julie Bindas; and
• daughter Layla Brooklyn Allman (born 1993), lead singer of Picture Me Broken, from a relationship with radio journalist Shelby Blackburn<ref name="abc7.com" />

Allman was averse to organized religion for many years, but claimed he always believed in a God.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Following his health ailments in the latter stages of his life, he came around to his own form of Christianity, and began wearing a cross necklace. He credited his sixth wife, Stacey Fountain, with helping him increase his faith.Template:Sfn

Discography

{{#invoke:Labelled list hatnote|labelledList|Main article|Main articles|Main page|Main pages}} Template:See also Studio

• Laid Back (1973)
• Playin' Up a Storm (1977)
• Two the Hard Way (1977) (with Cher)
• I'm No Angel (1987)
• Just Before the Bullets Fly (1988)
• Searching for Simplicity (1997)
• Low Country Blues (2011)
• Southern Blood (2017)

Live

• The Gregg Allman Tour (1974)
• Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA (2015)
• Uncle Sam's (2024)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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• One Night in DC: May 15, 1984 (2025)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

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Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1989	Rush Week	Cosmo Kincald
1991	Rush	Will Gaines

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1975	Cher	Himself
1990	Superboy	Samuels	Episode: "Carnival"
1992	Tales from the Crypt	Toland	Episode: "On a Deadman's Chest"
2000	Family Guy	Himself	Episode: "Let's Go to the Hop"

See also

• List of Hammond organ players
• Midnight Rider (film)

References

Sources

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

Further reading

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Official website
• Michael Lehman, Gregg's Manager sits down with Ira Haberman of The Sound Podcast shortly after Gregg's passing Template:Webarchive
• Template:Find a Grave