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.
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