WHEN IT'S TIME FOR LEAVIN'
I HOPE YOU'LL
UNDERSTAND
Brothers and Sisters
is the fourth
studio album
by American
rock band
Co-produced by
Johnny Sandlin
and the band,
the album was
released in
August 1973
in the United States,
by Capricorn Records.
Following the death
of group leader
Duane Allman
in 1971,
the Allman Brothers Band
released
Eat a Peach
(1972),
a hybrid
studio/live album
that became
their
biggest-selling album
to date.
Afterwards,
the group purchased
a farm in
Juliette, Georgia,
to become a
"group hangout".
However,
bassist
Berry Oakley
was visibly suffering
from the death
of Duane,
excessively drinking
and consuming drugs.
In November 1972,
after nearly a year of
severe depression,
Oakley was killed
in a motorcycle accident
(not dissimilar from Duane's),
making it the last album
on which he played.
On November 11, 1972,
overjoyed
at the prospect
of leading a
jam session
later that night,
Oakley crashed
his motorcycle
into the side
of a bus,
just three blocks
from where Duane
had been killed
in a bike accident.
He declined
hospital treatment
and went home,
but gradually
grew delirious.
He was taken to
the hospital
shortly thereafter
and died of
cerebral swelling
caused by a
fractured skull.
Oakley was buried
directly beside
Duane
at Rose Hill Cemetery
in Macon, Georgia.
The band carried on,
adding new members
Chuck Leavell
on piano
and
Lamar Williams
on bass.
Brothers and Sisters
was largely recorded
over a period of
three months
at Capricorn Sound Studios
in Macon, Georgia.
Lead guitarist
Dickey Betts
assumed the role
of band leader,
and many of his
compositions reflected
a more
country-inspired sound.
Session guitarists
Les Dudek
and
Tommy Talton
sat in on several songs.
The album was being
produced at the same time
as
vocalist/organist
Gregg Allman's
solo debut,
Laid Back,
and features many
of the same musicians
and engineers.
The front album cover
features a photograph of
Vaylor Trucks,
the son of
drummer
Butch Trucks
and his wife
Linda.
The back cover
features a photograph
of Brittany Oakley,
the daughter of
Berry Oakley
and his wife,
Linda.
The album represented
the Allmans'
commercial peak:
it has sold over
seven million
copies worldwide,
landing it at the time
atop of the
Top 200 Pop Albums
for five weeks.
"Ramblin' Man"
became the band's
first and only
Top-10 hit single,
peaking at number two
on the Billboard Hot 100
in 1973.
The album was followed by
a tour of arenas
and stadiums,
but drug problems,
strained friendships,
and miscommunications
marred relationships
between group members
during this time.
(OUTTAKES)
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