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 eight 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
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".
Allman died in his sleep
in his
Richmond Hill home
on
May 27, 2017,
due to complications
from liver cancer
at the age of 69.
His funeral took place at
Snow's Memorial Chapel
in Macon on June 3,
and was attended by
family and associates,
including
Dickey Betts,
Derek Trucks,
Cher,
and former
President Jimmy 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."
He was buried at
Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon,
beside his brother Duane,
and fellow band member
Berry Oakley
The set is heavy on covers,
including songs
originally performed by
Bob Dylan,
the Grateful Dead,
Tim Buckley
and
Jackson Browne,
who guests
on the album's
final song,
"Song for Adam".
The songs were picked
as they each held meaning
for Allman,
and told a story.
He had initially planned
to include more
original songs,
but was too ill
to complete them
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