Reynolds - Duane Allman

Duane Allman

Published by Robert GreyReynolds Jr. at Smashwords

Copyright 2016 by RobertGrey Reynolds Jr.

Howard Duane Allman(November 20, 1946-October 29, 1971) was the son of Captain WillisTurner Allman (August 16, 1918-December 26, 1949) and GeraldineAlice Allman. Born in St. Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee,Duanes father was a 2 nd Army Lieutenant.

The family was living nearNorfolk, Virginia when Willis Allman was murdered by anacquaintance whom he had offered a ride home from a bar. Thetragedy occurred a day after Christmas in 1949.

A Tennessee native, Willis enlisted inthe United States Army at Fort McClellan, Alabama on December 17,1940. As a sergeant he served in the Panama Canal Department. Theson of farmer John Alfred (October 26, 1898-December 28, 1976) andMyrtle Allman, as a small child of two years Willis lived with hisparents on Vautier Road in Dickson County, Tennessee.

Following the death of her husbandGeraldine Allman took her young sons, Duane, and Gregg (bornDecember 8, 1947), to live in Daytona Beach, Florida. The familylived at 100 Van Avenue.

The boys were greatly influenced by themusic of B.B. King when they watched him perform in concert in1959. Duane got a motorcycle for Christmas in 1960, the same yearthat Gregg was gifted with a guitar. Some months later Duanewrecked the motorcycle, a Harley 165. He traded in the spare partsfrom the bike and bought a guitar of his own. By 1965 the Kings, asGregg and Duane called themselves, were performing at socks hops inthe Daytona Beach area.

The Allman brothers joined local bandsafter which Duane quit school to pursue his music. The first bandthe Allmans formed was known as the Escorts. They latter changedits name to the All-Man Joys. They toured the South but failed tomake a lasting impression.

After moving to Los Angeles in 1967 thebrothers called their band the Hour Glass. They recorded severalalbums for Liberty Records. Future record producer Johnny Sandlinjoined Duane and Gregg in Hour Glass. He also backed guitaristDelbert McClinton on bass in 1979 in a performance at the Lone StarCafe in New York City.

Duane took an interest inlearning to play slide guitar after he hearing the Willie McTellclassic performed by blues singerTaj Mahal. Duane played using an emptyglass Coricidin cold medicine bottle which he wore over his ringfinger. His technique was later copied by numerous artistsincluding Bonnie Raitt and guitarist Gary Rossington of LynyrdSkynyrd.

In 1968 Duane returned hisband to Florida. The brothers worked with local bands like SecondComing and The 31 st of February. Duane also performed on demorecordings for various artists. This gave him his breakthrough intothe world of rock and roll. For some time Duane and Gregg performedseparately. Playing for Wilson Pickett on his 1968 Hey Jude album, Picketbegan calling Duane Skyman. This was because hesoared when he played. Some of his friendsdubbed him Dog dueto his shaggy appearance. His nickname soon evolved to Skydog. Randy Poeauthored a critically acclaimed biography of Duane Allman in 2008.It is titled Skydog: The Duane AllmanStory.

Picketts Hey Jude LP impressedrocker Eric Clapton who particularly enjoyed its guitar tracks.Duane Allman was recruited by Atlantic Records producer JerryWexler to work on sessions with such Rhythm & Blues artists asClarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Otis Rush, PercySledge, B.B. King, Delaney and Bonnie and more.

Boz Scaggs first soloalbum, Boz Scaggs, includes a song entitled Loan Me A Dime. Released in 1969 itbecame a standard on FM radio, featuring Duane Allman on guitar.Many of Duanes earliest recordings were made in the late 1960swhen he frequented the legendary Muscle Shoals, Alabamastudios. He played back up guitar whileworking there.

Comprehensively, the eldestAllman brother was proficient on bass, slide guitar, lead guitar,acoustic and electric guitars, dobro and occasional vocals. Aversatile guitarist Duane excelled playing every music genre fromsoul to rock blues and hard rock. In Guitar Gods: The 25 Players Who Made RockHistory , author Bob Gulla credits Allmanwith creating the blue print for playingelectric bottleneck slide guitar.

Phil Walden, who managed Otis Redding,arranged a meeting between Duane and Jai Johanny Jaimoe Johanson,who wanted to get a band together. Duane moved on to Florida andstarted performing jam sessions with Johanson, Butch Trucks (drums,congas and tambourine), Dickey Betts (lead guitar), Berry Oakley(bass) and Reese Wynans. As Vice President of Atlantic RecordsJerry Wexler signed Duane to a solo contract in 1969.

Posthumously Wexler said ofDuane, He was a complete guitar player. Hecould give you whatever you needed. He could do everything-playrhythm blues, slide, bossa nova with a jazz feeling, beautifullight acoustic-and on slide he got the touch.

A lot of slide playerssound sour. To get clear intonations with the rightovertones-thats the mark of a genius. Duane is one of the greatestguitar players I ever knew. He was one of the very few I knew whocould hold his own with the best of the black blues players, andthere are very few-you can count them on the fingers of one hand ifyouve got three fingers missing.

In March 1969 Duane replaced ReeseWynans on keyboards and the Allman Brothers Band was established.Its members moved to Macon, Georgia in April in order to remainclose to Phil Walden and Capricorn Sound Studios. The AllmanBrothers were the first band signed by Waldens Capricorn Recordslabel.

Gregg Allman returned toFlorida to join the band at Duanes request. He wanted his youngerbrother to play organ and sing. Duane Allman joined Dickie Betts toproduce the dual guitar sound that became the enduring mark of the AllmanBrothers Band.

In September 1969 The Allman Brothers Band ,a debut album, was released. This LP combined blues, soul, rock andcountry into an electric sound. This was the advent of Southernrock music. Released by Atlantic Records it was produced by AdrianBarber, a former producer of Vanilla Fudge, The Rascals and Mr.Floods Party. The editors of Rolling Stone and Fusion attended thebands recording sessions. The album was the first noteworthyhappening in music since The Who released Tommy about six monthsearlier.

The following August markedthe release of a followup album, IdlewildSouth. The same month Duane played withEric Clapton on Layla and Other AssortedLove Songs. The Allman Brothersbreakthrough opened the gateway for other performers in thesouthern United States to make a memorable impact in rock music.Touring Florida the band performed $150 anight gigs on thegarbage circuit , as Duane calledit.

Live At FillmoreEast was recorded in March 1971while Idlewild South continued its ascent on the record charts. A classic live rockdouble album, The Allman Brothers BandLive at the Fillmore East , became greatly popular duringthe summer of 71.

At one point Duane Allmanintroduces the song In Memory ofElizabeth Reed . Hetells the audience, Heres a new one byBrother Dickie called Ive Got Peanut Butter In My Pubic Hair, Crunchy Peanut Butter, ThatIs . With this the band begins playing amemorable rendition of LizReed . The Allman Brothers recorded a doublealbum that was released in July of 71. Unfortunately Duane didntlive to see the heights of popularity enjoyed by the band hefounded.

On October 29th Duane wasinvolved in a fatal motorcycle crash. Leaving Linda Oakleysbirthday party he was riding a Harley Sportster when he swerved totry and avoid hitting a truck. The truck hit his Harleyduring the fading light of earlyevening . Duane, 24, was catapulted from hisbike which continued on, skidding. Only hours later he wasdead.

The band held a jam sessionat Duanes funeral. In their mutual grief the members decided tostay together. Everyone was broken up.There was a feeling wed go our separate ways. Then we decided toplay. We started feeling better. We thought, thats what its allabout. So, Dickie Betts, 28,explained, we kept playing.