When I was a kid, before Southern rock was really a thing – at least, before we called it that – there were the Allman Brothers. They were Southern, having formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. They were a rock band, but they had their own distinct style, borrowing elements from blues and country music. They even covered some great old blues hits, like Smokestack Lightning, and made them their own.
The original lineup was lead guitarist Duane Allman, his brother, vocalist and keyboardist Greg Allman, along with Dickey Betts (guitar, vocals), Berry Oakley (bass guitar), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johnson (also drums)
Sadly, almost all of the original members are gone now. Duane Allman died as a result of a motorcycle crash in 1971. Berry Oakley died in 1972, also in a motorcycle accident, strangely only a short distance from the site of Duane Allman’s accident the year before. Butch Trucks committed suicide in 2017, Gregg Allman sadly passed from liver cancer, and Dickey Betts died in 2024 from cancer. Only “Jaimoe” survives today, aged 81, and was performing as recently as 2019.
Here are a few of my favorite Allman Brothers greats.
Whipping Post (1969): Greg Allman penned this song in 1968, in Jacksonville, after a trip to Los Angeles. It tells the tale of a man betrayed so repeatedly and so often by a woman that he feels helpless and in pain – as though he is tied to a whipping post. Greg Allman, reportedly, woke in the middle of the night and, unable to find a pen, wrote out the lyrics on an ironing board with burnt matches.
Read More: Ramble On, Ramblin' Man: Goodbye to Gregg Allman
Midnight Rider (1970): True story: When I was a teenager, the CB radio kick was in full sway, and nearly every car and truck had one. And of all the teenage boys yakking on all the CB radios, at least half of them used the “handle” Midnight Rider. I’m not sure what Greg Allman would have thought of that.
Statesboro Blues (1971): This one’s a cover, originally written and recorded by blues master Blind Willie McTell, who had released it as a single in 1928. Several bands covered it in the 1960s and 1970s, but the Allman Brothers made it the opening track of their live album At Fillmore East. Duane Allman died in that motorcycle crash only a few months after this song released, and the band played it as Duane’s funeral. Blue Sky (1971): Dickey Betts is said to have written this song about his Native Canadian girlfriend, Sandy “Blue Sky” Wabegejig. Sandy later said:Dicky and I met in March 1971 and were together until 1975. He wrote the song in the spring of '71. We were officially married in 1972. I am Odawa (following my dad's nation). My mother was Ojibway.
The lyrics, though, always make me think of my wife.
You're my blue sky, you're my sunny day
Lord, you know it makes me high
When you turn your love my way
You turn your love my way, yeah, yeah
Read More: In Memory of Dickey Betts From the Allman Brothers
Melissa (1972): Greg Allman had a lot to say about this song:
Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More (1972): This is a sad one, written by Greg Allman shortly after his brother Duane’s motorcycle accident; it’s about one brother learning to deal with the sudden, too-soon death of the other brother. This song was the opening track for the album Eat A Peach, the first album released after Duane’s death.Ramblin’ Man (1973): Dickey Betts took the title for this song from the old Hank William song of the same name, but this isn’t a cover; it’s a whole new song, which Dickey Betts said was based in his youth. In his book, Anatomy of a Song, Dickey wrote:I wrote that song in 1967 in a place called the Evergreen Hotel in Pensacola, Florida. By that time I got so sick of playing other people's material that I just sat down and said, 'OK, here we go. One, two, three - we're going to try to write songs.' And about 200 songs later - much garbage to take out - I wrote this song called 'Melissa.' And I had everything but the title. I thought (referring to lyrics): 'But back home, we always run... to sweet Barbara' - no. Diane...? We always run... to sweet Bertha.' No, so I just kind of put it away for a while.
So one night I was in the grocery store - it was my turn to go get the tea, the coffee, the sugar and all that other s--t... and there was this Spanish lady there and she had this little toddler with her - this little girl. And I'm sitting there, getting a few things and what have you. And this little girl takes off, running down the aisle. And the lady yells, Oh, Melissa! Melissa, come back, Melissa!' And I went, 'Oh - that's it.'
When I was a kid, my dad was in construction and used to move the family band and forth between central Florida's east and west coasts. I'd go to one school for a year and then the other the next. I had two sets of friends and spent a lot of time in the back seat of a Greyhound bus. Ramblin' was in my blood.
The Allman Brothers were a great piece of Americana, and they still are. I’m sure some of you have some great Allman Brothers suggestions or stories; the comments, as ever, are all yours. Let’s hear ‘em!
