Gregg Allman, who died yesterday after years of battling illness, endured more than his fair share of tragedy and hardship. His father was murdered by a hitchhiker. Just two months after the Allman Brothers Band released their masterwork At Fillmore East in 1971, his brother—guitar legend Duane Allman—was killed in a motorcycle accident. One year later, bassist Barry Oakley was also killed in a car crash. Still, the Allman Brothers Band continued touring and recording. “We’d all have turned into fucking vegetables if we hadn’t been able to get out there and play,” Gregg told Cameron Crowe in 1973.
The secret that helped Gregg persist was the music he’d pioneered alongside Duane—this slurry of R&B, rock'n'roll, blues, country, and jazz music. He was one of the fathers of Southern rock and a titan of jam band culture. He kept making music right up until the end. (Another album, recorded in recent months, is reportedly forthcoming.) Below, enjoy a few of our favorite Allman-penned records.
Allman Joys: “Gotta Get Away” (1966)
Before Gregg and Duane formed the Allman Brothers Band, they were a garage rock combo that came up in the wellspring of post-British Invasion teenage rock bands. The majority of the Allman Joys sessions wouldn’t surface until Dial Records released the Early Allman compilation in 1973. While the Allmans’ subsequent band Hour Glass recorded an inferior version of “Gotta Get Away” in 1967, the original shows the early power of Gregg’s voice and the burgeoning promise of his songwriting. —Evan Minsker
Hour Glass: “Bad Dream” (1967)
“Bad Dream,” originally recorded for Hour Glass’ debut self-titled album, didn’t make it off the cutting room floor until 1992. Gregg and Duane had moved beyond their garage rock origins and were leaning into the R&B-infused jams that would later define the Allman Brothers Band. It’s a forgotten gem—an early Gregg-penned soul ballad bolstered by Duane’s guitar solos and a backing band that would go on to work as session musicians at Muscle Shoals’ legendary FAME Studios. —EM
Allman Brothers Band: “Whipping Post” (1969)
Appearing on the band’s self-titled 1969 debut, the original studio recording of “Whipping Post” was much shorter than the unwieldy beast of a jam session that became a live show staple. The 22-minute version that closes At Fillmore East, for example, is legendary. “Once the song started, you climbed in and there was no tomorrow, no yesterday,” Butch Trucks told Rolling Stone last year. “You were just totally in the moment from the time it started to the time it ended.” The song’s pulsing rhythmic intro staged its central blues lament before Gregg eventually starts howling. Within the song’s structure, the Allmans could go wherever they wanted, whether that meant meditative noodling or all-power blues shredding. —Amanda Wicks
Allman Brothers Band: “Dreams” (1969)
If fate dealt a heavy (and heady) vision in “Dreams,” Gregg didn’t cocoon himself from feeling the full force of that despair. “This will surely be the end of me,” he sang, his gravelly voice straining to grapple with the dystopian scene he witnesses in his mind’s eye. Although the Allman Brothers Band made their name with their guitar heroics, the song’s organ stands at the center of “Dreams.” Gregg’s already minimal lyricism eventually takes a backseat to Duane’s guitar, resulting in a winding jam replete with the conversant guitars that would become their modus operandi. —AW
Allman Brothers Band: “Midnight Rider” (1970)
Themes of wanderlust, rebellion, and revelry have long defined Southern rock and the styles that inform it—namely blues, country, folk, and R&B. Appearing on the 1970 album Idlewild South, “Midnight Rider” was emblematic of the road’s danger and allure. (With the deaths of Duane and Oakley, the road would ultimately play a heavy role in the band’s lore.) The song’s iconic groove was covered countless times—Waylon Jennings, Bob Seger, Joe Cocker, and Sharon Jones were just a few to do the honors. At three minutes, it was a sprint compared to some of the Allmans’ jam-heavy classics, but it encapsulated their harmonic power and driving spirit. —AW
Allman Brothers Band: “Melissa” (1972)
“Melissa” is now synonymous with the woozy nostalgia of the song’s lead guitar, but the name took some nailing down. Gregg considered Barbara and Mary Jo, but during a serendipitous trip to the grocery store, he stumbled on the perfect name. “I was the only one in the store, except for this one Spanish lady and she had this little toddler with her,” he told CBS in 2011. A little girl ran off, prompting the woman to scream out, “‘Oh, Melissa, Melissa come back!’ And I went, ‘Oh! lady, I could kiss ya.’ M’lissa, that’s it!” He penned the song before he and brother Duane formed the Allman Brothers Band, but it took Duane’s death in 1971 for him to add it to their 1972 album Eat a Peach. It was his way of honoring his brother, who loved the song so much. —AW