Duane Allman

No Comments

  1. Wow, what can I say. That album has always been my favorite and Duane Allman is in my opinion, one of the greatest.

  2. Live at A&R Studios is the best I’ve heard period Duane Allman said to his bandmates make it Goodfellas were only here for 1 hour.

    1. Koo8 me and my three buddies went to the Early Show we shot in 5th row left just where you said if us was one of the best shows my fact it was the best show I ever saw in my life by far nothing even compares

  3. Nice read. I came to the brothers after Duane & Barry died. Sort of fell away until Derek started playing with them and worked my way backwards. I was just 11 in 71 but I wish to God I’d have paid closer attention. I always wonder how it must have felt to be at one of those show. You just gave me a really good idea. Thank you.

  4. Mr. Archer, your essay is perfect.
    ThankYou. I and so many others are able to be at Fillmore with your words.
    The music of The Allman Brothers is my life movie soundtrack. Past, present, and eternity.
    ThankYou again for letting me hand out stickers at the Gregg Allman show at Memphis Botanic Garden in June. Excellent evenin.

  5. I was only almost 19 when I first heard them. Always loved the Detroit R&B sound & the funk of James Brown when just 14. So when these guys came out & played that Southern blues rock I was hooked. Dwayne & I share the same B.D. date so I know how much a determined man he must of been to get his sound down. I had B.D. tickets to see them in R.I. live but Dwayne was killed before. So sad. Followed Gregg throughout the yrs. try to keep it together & he did pretty good. He is a great musician now, but needs to slow down so we can have him as long as possible. Never stopped loving this band, I am from Maine & saw them everytime they came even 3 summers ago up on the mountain. They had a old hippie bus transport us up the mountain to the concert & on the way back everyone was singing in the bus there songs dressed in hippy cloths. Loved it. God Bless

  6. My name is Dan DeMers from the heart of the Hudson Valley, and a proud 3rd generation ironworker out of local 40 N.Y. city one of my fellow I.W buddies with his long blonde hair looks much like Gregg Allman. After u made me feel like i was at this concert i loved the article i shared it with him cause he’s a fanatical fan of the Brothers, so again i thankyou and am sure my friend and fellow worker Kevin Joyce will be happy i stumbled on it also.Hats off to a GREAT MEMORY!!!!

  7. Was at the 4/26/71 late show also. To add to your great story was the memory of a great performance of Revival that gave the crowd a great late nite wake up call. Thanks

  8. In ’69,while on summer vacation from school(I was 15),The Allman Brothers Band played on 2 consecutive weekends at the Melbourne Auditorium in Melbourne,Fl. I was a 3rd year guitar student and knew of Duane Allman being a BUSY session player,and I wasn’t about to pass up a chance to witness a master at work!A friend and I made plans to go the second show.We were in need of a ride,so my friend’s older sister(who had their first album)agreed to transport us to the show.We arrive just as the support act begins.They were a trio (guitar,drums,keyboard w/keyboard bass).Next thing we know,out comes Berry Oakley to sit in with them!He fattened up their thin sound nicely. Then it was time for the main course!Now,I had never known about “slide guitar” before,and when Duane started playing,I couldn’t believe what I was both seeing and hearing!My jaw almost made a dent in the floor!That room had great acoustics and the sound was so good that it was almost like the album itself was being played through the P.A.!!! It could not have been better. As it turned out,my friend’s sister brought her copy of the first album with her.After the show,we’re standing around when I look across the room and spot Gregg walking out from backstage.I grab the album and approach him and he graciously signs it. My friend had brought a camera,so we try to get backstage and actually make it! We can’t find Duane,but there’s Dickey Betts,sitting on a folding chair pickin’ on his SG. We get some shots of him including one of me playing his SG!!! This was definitely one of my better concert experiences!

  9. That June 26th late show is, to my way of thinking, the holy grail of rock-n-roll. Surely the tape(s) must be somewhere; right? If they somehow were misplaced and still reside any place in the material world, please, dear God, PLEASE, we implore you, we beseech you, we appeal to you and all you and we both hold dear, and I understand that isn’t always the same thing, but still … that you somehow maneuver events, circumstances, people who may not even know what it is that they know regarding this to search, act, inquire into its whereabouts in order that it can somehow be unearthed and restored to its proper place amongst we the people!

    The boys gave this most beloved of musical theaters’ a closing show worthy of its stature. It’s now well past time for this closing night’s performance to surface for one and all to hear. That it remains missing to this day, that it somehow slipped between our fingers and out of our musically craving hands leaves us all diminished — and yes, still grieving — for its return to its proper place: inspiring us all with its majesty, soul, and passion.

    Whoever you are and wherever you may be found, if you have any information relating to or even a clue regarding where these tapes may reside or even may have resided in the past, we request you in the name of humanity and all that is fine & good within it still, albeit we agree to disagree on exactly what that may or may not be, to help find, unearth, restore, and release this seminal musical event for all to hear and be inspired by. Remember: the musical soul you save may very well be your own!

    Thanks for sharing your memories of this most significant of musical evenings with us, Rowland. Like the show itself, I never wanted it to end.

    Bill Graham’s Fillmore East LIVES!!!

    Long live the Allman Brothers Band!!!

    Remember Duane Allman!!!

  10. I can’t seem to get enough of the Allman Bros. music lately and have dived into the history of the band via my laptop and I would definitely be interested in the 7 set CD collection. I’m 13 years younger than Duane, but through the 70’s, I became a true follower of the band and have listened to their music ever since. I lost my Dad in a car accident on Jan. 1, 1971, so now it seems Duane & the Band and I have something ever so sorrowful in common, and recently, I’ve been ever so drawn to the beginning and history which made up the Allman Bros. Band. I always knew Duane had been this kick-ass guitarist who started the band with his brother Gregg, but I had no idea what a genius he really was at only 24. At 58, I’m listening to just about everything, but the true classics, like the Allman Bros., can never, ever, be duplicated. Their seeds have taken root deeply and their music lives on forever. NOW PLAYING IN HEAVEN: SKYDOG & GREGG.

    1. That is simply beautiful! I’ve spent the last two weeks learning everything about the history of the Allman Brothers as well. I came acroos the Gainesville Florida concert on youtube and had to learn more about the members of the band, and boy did I. I couldn’t imagine losing my father at a very young age. I feel very humbled by the story of these truly talented brothers. The music will forever live on.

  11. That was one great read Thanks The Allman Brothers Band are my favorite band I adore The Live At The Fillmore East album I believe I have 4 or 5 versions. The Road Goes On Forever & 2nd Generation Allman Betts & Oakley are proving it ✌️❤️

  12. My friends and I attended the last public concert at the Fillmore East.. featuring Albert King, the J. Giles band and the Allman brothers band. we were in the 7th row center section. The show was amazing and it was daylight when we left for home. I remember the next night recording the entire show off the radio broadcast on WNEW. Funny, we considered going to see the Leon Russell show (I think a week earlier) but I insisted we go to see the Allman Brothers. We actually also saw them at the Wollman Rink but it was wonderful to see them with Duane at the Fillmore…

  13. I got this box set when it first came out in the limited edition – mine is 04392/10000. Simply put, the best box set I have ever heard. Many hours of great listening.

  14. I couldn’t sleep, so I picked up my phone to read this article, thinking it would make me rest. OMG, I felt as if I was there, at the closing of the Fillmore East, listening to the best band that will ever be. I was 16 years old when the Allman Brothers Band came to Spartanburg, SC and played at the Sitar. I didn’t get to go because I was in Florida that week, but I have heard how great their show was. I missed my chance to see Duane Allman play live. I am an artist, and I would just sit around & sketch Duane playing his guitar, I adored him that much. There will never be anyone like the original ABB because they made their music as a group, but the passing of Duane & Gregg made the music die for me. I did see this wonderful band play several times over the years, but I really enjoyed Gregg’s solo shows the best. In fact, I saw him in Charleston, SC at one of his last shows. The music that The Allman’s played will always be with me. The only thing missing from this article is the description of Duane playing “Will the Circle be Unbroken “ at the end of Mountain Jam. I cry when I hear the pure sound that comes from Duane Allman’s guitar, & his heart.

  15. Roland I have the whole show on reel to reel tape from that night–my favorite tape

  16. Somehow I feel it is right that there is no known, publicly available recording of 6/26/71.

    The Allman Brothers Band was all about the jam – the process of creating, truly creating, each and every night they played. It was about experimentation, pushing the limits both as individual musicians and a cohesive organism, sharing the process of creating original music with each other and the audience.

    Recording the music takes away from its ephemeral nature – each time it is played, the recording is the same – it is not original in the same way. In my eyes it is fitting that the best show they ever played, stayed right there where it was meant to be, right there where they were at home – onstage, jamming, creating, not in a studio, not playing it safe for the perfection of the recording but rather laying it all out on the table, taking risks to push to a new level. When they were recorded, they were held back – the unrecorded jam was freedom, beautiful and unadulterated.

  17. I believe that I have tapes from this show…..6/27/71…..And they also include Edgar Winter, Mountain, Country Joe, and the Beach Boys……In addition to J Geils Band, Albert King, and the Allman Brothers

    1. Those are from the Sunday night show that was broadcast on FM. It was a closed-to-the-public show for VIP’s. It was a great performance, but not the “Holy Grail” show from the last public night.

  18. I too was there that night. My girlfriend’s dad got us a full row of tickets for the show. It was a family event! I wasn’t too excited when she had mentioned that the Allman Brothers were closing being more interested in bands like The Faces & Savoy Brown which I had just seen at the Capital Theatre in Port Chester. I wasn’t going to say no however! As an aside, my buddy and I had purchased first row center for the Faces in April. Even shook Ron Wood’s hand. We used to call months in advance to see what the upcoming bands would be, send in a check and the tickets would arrive by mail. Unimaginable today! The Allman Brothers appeared well into the wee hours of the 27th after Albert King and an incredible set by the J. Geils Band. I recall J. Geils was wearing a pair of woman’s white pumps. Too weird, too cool! The Allmans came on and as was said, played and played and played. I had never experienced anything as driving and free form as that set and have never since. Magical. As it was winding down and the doors opened to a burst of light, some wise guy yelled “play all night!” We exited the side doors onto East 6th St. with our eyes adjusting to the morning sun. It was so memorable that with the 50th anniversary coming up and all that I’ve experienced since as a 67 year old senior citizen, little comes close to this historical musical event!

  19. Excellent writing of that 6/26 show. Grew up listening to them, my 1st 3 LPs I loved were Led Zep II, Concert for Bangladesh (sp?) and that ABB Live at the Fillmore. Finally got to see live them when they got back together in 79, caught the first show in the NY area at the Capital in Passaic NJ on 4/20/79 and then scored freebies on 4/24/79 in front of the Palladium in NYC because I was wearing a WLIR T shirt while I was trying to scalp tix after seeing then a few nights before. DJ from the station, Michael Ross was in the crowd in front and man am I glad I put that shirt on THAT day! Saw them countless times more thru the 80’s until those Beacon shows ended in 2009 or so??? Just the BEST live music you ever hear. SO glad I loved them back in 71… just a treasure trove of stuff to get me thru life ..always!

  20. Rowland, man you pull my heart right out of my chest. I love The Allman Brother Band. Tears in my eyes and my heart on my sleeve. I can close my eyes and be right where you stood, watching them play they sound. At 14 of age in 66′, I saw them play in a bar in Nashville. As I think then, they were the Allman Joys, or the Hour Glass. Who knows? And again in 70′ at MTSU, TN. Could not believe my eyes and ears. I tried to take in everything. They movement with each other, everything. And they took me to heaven and back. I was raise in that Guitar Town and have met and seen and been around a lot of music and musicians. I love all kinds of music, and have meet some of the best players in Jazz, Country, Blues, and Rock and Roll. Set-up a lot of shows. The Brothers were the Best. Hearing the guitar of Duane’s slide gives me chicken skin like no one else. Greg’s singing for a white boy is one of the best Blues sound there is. And that B-3, organ, WOW. Dickie’s playing blended well with Duane’s slide work. His songwriting was damn good too. Berry, Jaimoe and Butch fed the bottom for support. What a Band. The Allman Brothers Band. Thank you, Rowland. a good piece of work. Thanks again.

  21. What a MAGICAL nightI was in the forth row balcony and experienced the best concert of my long and blessed life. The band were alchemists that night, transporting us through the cosmos with their music. Thank you ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND!……… and thanks for your great story…

  22. I got ‘At Fillmore East’ for my 17th birthday in 1971, 51 years ago today. When I feel blue and discouraged about how things have gone in this country I just put that album on and I get carried back to a simpler, better time when we could make things happen rather than be victims of what happens to us. Should I get to heaven it will be the Allman Brothers Band Live at the Fillmore for eternity, playing with and for all their friends.

  23. Great easy great read!! It briefly brought me back to that time. I was 16 at the time and was at a friends graduation party and left the party to listen to the show on WNEW in my car. I went home before the Brothers took the stage and taped the show. I listened to it for years. Someone stole my tape about 10 years ago but I was glad to see the broadcasted show was available on several sources. I saw them later that summer in Huntington NY at the Century theater and in the fall at SUNY Stony Brook. They had started playing Blue Sky at these shows and thought I would never hear that soing again after Duane died. I was so thankful to hear it on Eat A Peach. The next time I heard it live as at Watkins Glen. I miss the Brothers and will be listening to the June 27, 1971!

  24. During the summer of 1969, many bands that played in Boston would do a free concert on Sunday afternoon on the Cambridge Common.

    One weekend, my freak friends and I went to a concert to hear a band called the Illinois Speed Press. We were impressed with their music and because they had two lead guitarists–Kal David and Paul Cotton (later of Poco fame). They also had two drummers.

    We got to the Commons, dropped, and found a spot close to the stage. We were jazzed because there was a row of Marshall amps and two drum kits–we thought that the ISP, the headliner, was going to open.

    Instead, this other band comes out. Short, blond curly-haired guy with a Les Paul guitar, black and white drummer, etc. They opened with “Mountain Jam” and play for maybe two hours. The crowd was totally wiped out When the ISP came out, they were kind of bummed because they knew it was over.

    Mostly nobody had heard of the Allman Brothers. Nobody forgot them!

    That winter, the Brothers opened at the Boston Tea Party for a forgettable proto-metal band, The Nice. The Brothers actually got booed after their first set by the assh**es there to hear some mindless shredding. When the Brothers came out for their second set, my freak friends and I stood up and gave them our own ovation. Duane lit up and pointed to the very front of the crowd and gestured for us to move up. We were only about 5 rows back so we didn’t move. But boy! We loved the music and let them know.