Most people who grew up with rock and roll know the story of the Allman Brothers. The clip above is from The Fillmore East in 1970 with the lineup that made the band famous.
Here is a long excerpt from the group’s bio at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame entry:
As the principal architects of Southern rock, the Allman Brothers Band forged this new musical offshoot from elements of blues, jazz, soul, R&B and rock and roll. Along with the Grateful Dead and Cream, they help advance rock as a medium for improvisation. Their kind of jamming required a level of technical virtuosity and musical literacy that was relatively new to rock & roll, which had theretofore largely been a song-oriented medium. The original guitarists in the Allman Brothers Band – Duane Allman and Dickey Betts – broke that barrier with soaring, extended solos. Combined with organist Gregg Allman’s gruff, soulful vocals and Hammond B3 organ, plus the forceful, syncopated drive of a rhythm section that included two drummers, the Allman Brothers Band were a blues-rocking powerhouse from their beginnings in 1969.
Someone else who gets it just about right — at least for some people — is the top commenter (as of today) at YouTube posting of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed:
I’ve heard a lot of the greats. I’m what you’d you consider old school. There are so many great guitarists but you have to ask you self what really moves you, that’s what it’s all about. And nobody has ever moved me like Duane. Just simply the best. The timing, bending of notes, tone, feeling, just extraordinary. And just 25 when he left us. Hendrix is superb as a lot of others, but Duane for me is the best I’ve ever heard.
Here is the band’s site and a live version of Blue Sky from 1991:
Listen to more at Wolfgang’s Vault.
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