Rock-tober 25, 2017

Soulshine.

It's better than sunshine.

It's better than moonshine.

Damn sure better than rain.

These are lyrics to the Allman Brothers track, "Soulshine," which was their entry into the elite membership of Rock-tober alums just over 3 years ago to the day. The 2 namesakes of the band, Duane and Greg Allman formed the 6 man Southern Rock group in Jacksonville in 1969. Of note, their original drummer was Jai Johanny Johanson. Just "Jaimoe" to his friends, he hails from Ocean Springs, MS, just 3 cities east of my adopted hometown of Long Beach.

Fame came fast and early starting with the release of their self-titled debut album, The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. The follow up, Idlewild South came out in 1970, and then their first live recording, At Fillmore East dropped in 1971 and eventually went platinum. From these 3 albums came a good part of their canon with "Whipping Post," "Midnight Rider," and their cover of "Statesboro Blues" finding their genesis in this trio of rapid fire records.

Cruelly, disaster followed quickly on the heels of this phenomenal success. Duane Allman, the catalyst and soul of the group, died in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971. We discussed the deep soul searching surviving band members must navigate with last year's missive with AC/DC. Likewise, the surviving members of the Allman Brothers Band, with a drive instilled in them by Duane, released Eat a Peach the following year. It peaked at the #4 spot and it, too, went platinum. Maintaining their incredible cadence, 1973 saw the release of  Brothers and Sisters. It remains their highest charting album, claiming the #1 spot and yet another platinum certification for the band.

However, rapid success and survivor's guilt are hard burdens to carry. Founding bassist, Berry Oakley, fell into a spiral of addiction and depression. Just over a year after Duane's death, Oakley died shortly after a motorcycle accident that took place 3 blocks from where Duane had his fatal crash. 

The mid '70's saw band members start to go their separate ways. An attempted reunion in 1978 culminated with only 1 song, "Straight from the Heart" managing to break into the Top 40. In an attempt to exit the limelight while they still had some relevance, 1982 saw the breakup of the group.

A second reunion was sought in 1989 during the band's 20th anniversary. In the intervening years, the band made changes to its lineup and management and released 8 studio albums. They were unable to reproduce their early success, and only 1 album, Where It All Begins, attained gold status. They continued to tour until their final performance on October 28, 2014. It was a magnificent 4 hour jam session to end a 45 year run which included 2 Grammys and induction into the Class of '95 of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

This year, with the deaths of Butch Trucks on January 24 and Gregg Allman on May 27, Dickey Betts and hometown boy, Jaimoe, are the last surviving founding members of the group. During the band's farewell performance, a screen behind them displayed the message, "The road indeed goes on forever. So stay calm, eat a peach and carry on..."

Carry on.