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The Allman Brothers Band, known for their hits such as `Ramblin man'and the Grammy Award-winning `Jessica', were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
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BAND OF BOYS: The Allman Brothers Band.
ON A recent visit to Music World, Banjara Hills, DJ Black Jack played, among other artists, a group called The Allman Brothers Band. It was rock and roll at its pristine best. Formed principally around two brothers, Duane and Gregg Allman, The Allman Brothers Band was a group with no sedentary members. Like most southern bands, they had their share of problems and jinxes. As in human growth, this group had its fits and starts, heterogeneous styles (Blues, Rhythm and Blues, Country, Jazz and Gospel), appellations and a string of untimely deaths, but through personal tragedy and turmoil, the group has endured. To this day it remains highly respected and well received by its scores of fans.
Born in Nashville, the Allman brothers played in various bands until 1963, when they formed `The Escorts' (Daytona, Florida) which, in 1965 became `The Allman Joys'. Failure saw them move to Los Angeles and Alabama before reverting back to Florida. Change of labels and members came thick and fast - Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Johnny Johanson, Butch Trucks, Lamar Williams and Chuck Leavell to name a few.
The year 1969 saw the formation of `The Allman Brothers Band'. Their initial offering, Idle wild south, was well received but only in the southern parts of USA. Its second album At Filmmore East sold well and a live double LP set was released. This album reached the top 10 on the US Charts and the group was being hailed in the press as America's best rock and roll ensemble.
Duane Allman, after the group's first album, played on sessions with the likes of Boz Scaggs, Laura Nyro, Otis Rush and others . He also performed with the legendary Eric Clapton on the song Layla. Three months after the release of At Fillmore East, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon. Bizarre as it may sound, Berry Oakley was also killed in a motorcycle mishap, three blocks from the site of Duane's crash.
1974 saw the advent of the `Gregg Allman Band' with Johanson, Leavell and Williams. Growing discord and a testimony against his personal showman Scooter Herring, for dealing narcotics, was construed by some as a betrayal of fraternal loyalty, leading to the dissipation of the group. The following year Greg Allman was married to Cher. The association was a rocky one. They had a son in 1977 and were separated by the year 1979.
Eat a peach rose to No.4 and the bands biggest single Ramblin man went to No.2. Lamar Williams replaced Dickey Betts in Brothers and Sisters. This album attained the top slot. The group also rehashed and sold the first two albums with greater success, in fact selling double the original sale.
In the year 1978, The Allman Brothers Band regrouped. The product, Enlightened rogues a No.9 album, was certified gold in two weeks of its release. Sadly, 1983 saw another death in the line-up.
Lamar Williams died of cancer, related to agent orange (used in the Vietnam War). Reassembling again in 1989, the group brought forth a box set of songs and road shows from 1966 to 1988. In 1995, The Allman Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and it saw the creation of the second box set. The next year the group received a Grammy Award (best rock instrumental performance) for the single Jessica. There was renewed critical respect especially, for Allman's singing and song writing. Gregg Allman, after a long struggle, finally won his combat against heroin and alcohol.
If only internal bickering and the deaths of Duane Allman and other key members could be reversed, The Allman Brothers Band would surely have attained insuperable heights .
A. GEORGE ANTONY
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