Gregg Allman
Encyclopedia
Gregory Lenoir Allman known as Gregg Allman, is a rock
and blues
singer, keyboardist
, guitarist
and songwriter
, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band
. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
in 2006. His distinctive voice placed him in 70th place in the Rolling Stone
list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".
At the beginning of the 1970’s, The Allman Brothers Band enjoyed huge success and a number of their most characteristic songs were written by Gregg. Unusually for the time, the band was based in the Southeastern United States
and their music, which has been called ‘Southern Rock’, a term derided by Gregg, incorporates an innovative fusion of rock and jazz.
Following the death of his older brother, the guitarist Duane Allman
in 1971 and bass guitarist Berry Oakley
around a year later, in motorbike accidents, the band struggled on and continued to perform and record. In addition, Gregg developed a solo career and a band under his own name. Gregg’s solo music has perhaps a greater resonance of soul music than his work with ABB, possibly because of the influence of artists such as Bobby Bland
and Little Milton
, singers who he has long admired.
Despite recent health issues, Gregg still tours.
Gregg's memoirs of his life in music are scheduled to be published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, in Spring 2012
, Norfolk, Virginia
. Shortly after, his father was murdered by a casual acquaintance and Geraldine 'Mama A' Allman was left to raise the boys. In order to retrain as an accountant, she sent her sons to Castle Heights Military Academy
in Lebanon, Tennessee
, which they both loathed. Eventually, in 1957, when his mother had finished her course, the family settled in Daytona Beach, Florida
, and the boys attended Seabreeze High School
.
Both Duane and Gregg became captivated by music at a young age; Gregg has revealed that Duane and he went to see Jackie Wilson
, Otis Redding
, Patti Labelle
and B.B. King perform and that he was particularly struck by B.B.’s Hammond organ player.
Gregg took an interest in the guitar before Duane did, learning the very basics from his grandmother’s neighbour in Nashville. Duane would soon become the superior guitarist, giving up school in tenth grade to focus on it while Gregg practiced his vocals and keyboards, remained at school and finally graduated in 1965. Although he planned to become a dentist, Gregg fell in with his brother’s plans that they should become musicians, intending to go to medical school after a short while; it didn’t happen.
.
Toward the end of the decade, The Allman Joys relocated to Los Angeles, California
, and were signed to Liberty Records
, which renamed them The Hour Glass
. In addition to Gregg and Duane, The Hour Glass consisted of three other players who would later become renowned studio musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
: Pete Carr
, Johnny Sandlin and Paul Hornsby
. Strongly controlled by the label management, the group produced a couple of psychedelic
blues albums. All the players were deeply dissatisfied with the results; Duane Allman, in particular, spoke bitterly of the Hour Glass' output. The label executives were, however, impressed with Gregg Allman's abilities as a vocalist and keyboardist. The band left Los Angeles for the South and disbanded. In Florida, Duane and Gregg joined a band called 31st February with a drummer named Butch Trucks but Gregg returned to California
as Hourglass still owed money to Liberty Records which believed that Gregg had potential as a solo act.
in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
and began to assemble the group that would become The Allman Brothers Band - Duane and Dickey Betts
on guitars, Berry Oakley
on bass guitar, and Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson on drums. In the meantime, Gregg had grown unhappy with the Liberty Records arrangement so when Duane called from Jacksonville, Florida
in March 1969 to say that he had assembled a band that needed a singer, Gregg jumped at the opportunity and returned to the South.
He had long wanted to play the Hammond Organ, and was given one immediately upon joining the band, which he had to learn to play in a hurry. Ever since, he has played the Hammond B-3 with a preference for a 1969 issue B3 hooked to a Leslie speaker 122RV and handled much of the lead vocals and song writing for the band, along with occasional piano and guitar contributions.
It included a couple of reworked Allman Brothers songs, such as a horn-infused version of "Midnight Rider
" that made it to #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and originals like "Queen of Hearts", the other ABB members felt did not quite fit the Allman Brothers sound. Gregg also covered a traditional gospel
song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and former California roommate Jackson Browne
's song "These Days
."
His solo career has continued intermittently throughout the subsequent decades, sometimes touring when the Allman Brothers Band is off the road. Generally, these solo efforts - first with the Gregg Allman Band
, and later with Gregg Allman & Friends - eschew lengthy guitar solos and cast Allman more in the mode of his favorite soul
singers. The bands often include a horn section and are more groove-oriented, mixing original songs with reworked Allman Brothers songs and covers of blues, R&B
, and soul songs.
Gregg's second chart single came in 1987 with the #49 peaking "I'm No Angel
", from the album of the same name. The album went on to be certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold and led to a renewed interest in Allman and to a reformation of the Allman Brothers Band less than three years later.
His latest solo album, Low Country Blues, was produced by T-Bone Burnett
and issued in early 2011. It is a collection of eleven blues standards and one new song written by Gregg.
He has also made guest appearances on albums and concert videos by a wide variety of other artists, including a concert DVD
celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Radiators
, playing Midnight Rider with that band.
In addition to his musical career, Gregg took acting roles in the films Rush Week (1989) and Rush
(1991), and in episodes of the TV series Superboy
. He also had a brief speaking cameo
in the Family Guy
episode "Let's Go to the Hop".
During the mid 1970’s, there was a prominent court case involving Gregg and John ‘Scooter’ Herring, Gregg’s road manager.
He was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in late 2007[4] which he attributes to infection from his extensive tattooing and on June 23, 2010, he underwent surgery for a liver transplant. The operation was successful and he has recovered well. Despite this blow to his health, Gregg has resumed touring.
His first son, Michael Sean Allman, who is a vocalist, was born in July 1966 to Mary Sutton. His marriage to Shelley Kay Winters (later Jefts), produced another son, Devon Allman
, on August 10, 1972. Devon is also a musician, leads the band Honeytribe
, and has appeared with the Allman Brothers Band on a few occasions.
At the time of his first solo album, Laid Back, Allman was married to Jan Blair, sister of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
' bassist, Ron Blair
.
Allman was married to the entertainer Cher
from 1975 to 1979. They had one child together, a son, Elijah Blue Allman
, who later formed his own band, Deadsy
. The couple tried a musical collaboration, releasing an album Two the Hard Way
(billed as Allman and Woman) in 1977. It was universally panned, and it has long since been out of print. The Hard Way Tour did not achieve success either. In an interview on NPR's On Point
in March 2011, Allman expressed that he and Cher split due largely to his desire to no longer live in Los Angeles, and his growing discomfort with his wife's celebrity lifestyle.
Allman was married to Julie Bindas from 1979 to 1981. They had a daughter, Delilah Island Allman, November 5, 1980.
In the late eighties he convinced the future porn actress Shannon Michelle Wilsey "Savannah" to travel to San José, California, to make a casting, when they arrived she discovered the movie thing was fake, later she was pregnant by him and lost the baby (or aborted it).
Around 1992, he met Shelby Blackburn, who had interviewed him at a radio station where she worked. Out of this relationship came daughter Layla Brooklyn Allman, born March 31, 1993. Layla fronts the band Picture Me Broken
.
He married Stacey Fountain in 2001.
Allman currently lives in Richmond Hill, Georgia
.
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
singer, keyboardist
Keyboardist
A keyboardist is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more...
, guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
and songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
, and a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band
The Allman Brothers Band is an American rock/blues band once based in Macon, Georgia. The band was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman , who were supported by Dickey Betts , Berry Oakley , Butch Trucks , and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe"...
. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
in 1995 and received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Georgia Music Hall of Fame
Georgia Music Hall of Fame
The Georgia Music Hall of Fame, located in downtown Macon, Georgia, preserves and interprets the state's rich musical heritage through programs of collection, exhibition, education and performance...
in 2006. His distinctive voice placed him in 70th place in the Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time".
At the beginning of the 1970’s, The Allman Brothers Band enjoyed huge success and a number of their most characteristic songs were written by Gregg. Unusually for the time, the band was based in the Southeastern United States
Southeastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
and their music, which has been called ‘Southern Rock’, a term derided by Gregg, incorporates an innovative fusion of rock and jazz.
Following the death of his older brother, the guitarist Duane Allman
Duane Allman
Howard Duane Allman was an American guitarist, session musician and the primary co-founder of the southern rock group The Allman Brothers Band...
in 1971 and bass guitarist Berry Oakley
Berry Oakley
Raymond Berry Oakley III , was an American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Biography:...
around a year later, in motorbike accidents, the band struggled on and continued to perform and record. In addition, Gregg developed a solo career and a band under his own name. Gregg’s solo music has perhaps a greater resonance of soul music than his work with ABB, possibly because of the influence of artists such as Bobby Bland
Bobby Bland
Robert Calvin Bland better known as Bobby "Blue" Bland, is an American singer of blues and soul. He is an original member of the Beale Streeters, and is sometimes referred to as the "Lion of the Blues"...
and Little Milton
Little Milton
James Milton Campbell, Jr. , better known as Little Milton, was an American electric blues, rhythm and blues, and soul singer and guitarist, best known for his hit records "Grits Ain't Groceries" and "We're Gonna Make It."-Biography:Milton was born James Milton Campbell, Jr., in the Mississippi...
, singers who he has long admired.
Despite recent health issues, Gregg still tours.
Gregg's memoirs of his life in music are scheduled to be published by William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, in Spring 2012
Early years
Gregg is the younger son of Willis Turner Allman and Geraldine Alice (nee Robbins) . He was born in Nashville Tennessee in 1947, thirteen months after his brother Duane. His father was in the army and in 1949 the family relocated to Fort StoryFort Story
Formerly a sub-installation of Fort Eustis, Fort Story is a sub-installation of the United States Navy and Little Creek Amphibious Base...
, Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. With a population of 242,803 as of the 2010 Census, it is Virginia's second-largest city behind neighboring Virginia Beach....
. Shortly after, his father was murdered by a casual acquaintance and Geraldine 'Mama A' Allman was left to raise the boys. In order to retrain as an accountant, she sent her sons to Castle Heights Military Academy
Castle Heights Military Academy
Castle Heights Military Academy was a private military academy in Lebanon, Tennessee, USA.The Academy was founded as Castle Heights School in 1902. In 1918, it became a military preparatory school. The school ceased operations in 1986 in the face of declining enrollment...
in Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon, Tennessee
Lebanon is a city in Wilson County, Tennessee, in the United States. The population was 20,235 at the 2000 census. It serves as the county seat of Wilson County. Lebanon is located in middle Tennessee, approximately 25 miles east of downtown Nashville. Local residents have also called it...
, which they both loathed. Eventually, in 1957, when his mother had finished her course, the family settled in Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach, Florida
Daytona Beach is a city in Volusia County, Florida, USA. According to 2008 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 64,211. Daytona Beach is a principal city of the Deltona – Daytona Beach – Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had...
, and the boys attended Seabreeze High School
Seabreeze High School
Seabreeze High School is a high school located in Daytona Beach, Florida. The school has been named a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence.- Notable alumni :...
.
Both Duane and Gregg became captivated by music at a young age; Gregg has revealed that Duane and he went to see Jackie Wilson
Jackie Wilson
Jack Leroy "Jackie" Wilson, Jr. was an American singer and performer. Known as "Mr. Excitement", Wilson was important in the transition of rhythm and blues into soul. He was known as a master showman, and as one of the most dynamic singers and performers in R&B and rock history...
, Otis Redding
Otis Redding
Otis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
, Patti Labelle
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte-Edwards , better known under the stage name, Patti LaBelle, is a Grammy Award winning American singer, author and actress who has spent over 50 years in the music industry...
and B.B. King perform and that he was particularly struck by B.B.’s Hammond organ player.
Gregg took an interest in the guitar before Duane did, learning the very basics from his grandmother’s neighbour in Nashville. Duane would soon become the superior guitarist, giving up school in tenth grade to focus on it while Gregg practiced his vocals and keyboards, remained at school and finally graduated in 1965. Although he planned to become a dentist, Gregg fell in with his brother’s plans that they should become musicians, intending to go to medical school after a short while; it didn’t happen.
The Escorts, The Allman Joys, The Hour Glass and 31st September
In the mid- to late-1960s, Gregg and Duane Allman played in a series of bands including The Escorts and The Allman Joys, mostly around the Southeastern United StatesSoutheastern United States
The Southeastern United States, colloquially referred to as the Southeast, is the eastern portion of the Southern United States. It is one of the most populous regions in the United States of America....
.
Toward the end of the decade, The Allman Joys relocated to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, and were signed to Liberty Records
Liberty Records
Liberty Records was a United States-based record label. It was started by chairman Simon Waronker in 1955 with Al Bennett as president and Theodore Keep as chief engineer. It was reactivated in 2001 in the United Kingdom and had two previous revivals.-1950s:...
, which renamed them The Hour Glass
The Hour Glass
The Hour Glass were a 1960s rhythm and blues band based in Los Angeles, California between 1967 and 1968. Among their members were two future members of the Allman Brothers Band and three future studio musicians at the world-renowned Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama .-History:Formed from the...
. In addition to Gregg and Duane, The Hour Glass consisted of three other players who would later become renowned studio musicians in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
: Pete Carr
Pete Carr
Jesse Willard "Pete" Carr is an American guitarist. Carr has contributed to hit recordings by Joan Baez, Luther Ingram, Bob Seger, Joe Cocker, Boz Scaggs, Paul Simon, The Staple Singers, Rod Stewart, Barbra Streisand, Wilson Pickett, Hank Williams, Jr., and many more over the past four decades...
, Johnny Sandlin and Paul Hornsby
Paul Hornsby
Paul Hornsby is a musician and record producer who has produced gold and platinum records for artists including the Charlie Daniels Band, the Marshall Tucker Band, and Wet Willie....
. Strongly controlled by the label management, the group produced a couple of psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
blues albums. All the players were deeply dissatisfied with the results; Duane Allman, in particular, spoke bitterly of the Hour Glass' output. The label executives were, however, impressed with Gregg Allman's abilities as a vocalist and keyboardist. The band left Los Angeles for the South and disbanded. In Florida, Duane and Gregg joined a band called 31st February with a drummer named Butch Trucks but Gregg returned to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
as Hourglass still owed money to Liberty Records which believed that Gregg had potential as a solo act.
Formation of The Allman Brothers Band
Duane became employed as a session musician at FAME StudiosFAME Studios
FAME Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present...
in Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals, Alabama
Muscle Shoals is a city in Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated the population of the city to be 12,846. The city is included in The Shoals MSA. It is famous for its contributions to American popular music.-Geography:Muscle Shoals is located...
and began to assemble the group that would become The Allman Brothers Band - Duane and Dickey Betts
Dickey Betts
Forrest Richard "Dickey" Betts is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and composer best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won with the band a best rock performance Grammy Award for his...
on guitars, Berry Oakley
Berry Oakley
Raymond Berry Oakley III , was an American bassist and one of the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band.-Biography:...
on bass guitar, and Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson on drums. In the meantime, Gregg had grown unhappy with the Liberty Records arrangement so when Duane called from Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
in March 1969 to say that he had assembled a band that needed a singer, Gregg jumped at the opportunity and returned to the South.
He had long wanted to play the Hammond Organ, and was given one immediately upon joining the band, which he had to learn to play in a hurry. Ever since, he has played the Hammond B-3 with a preference for a 1969 issue B3 hooked to a Leslie speaker 122RV and handled much of the lead vocals and song writing for the band, along with occasional piano and guitar contributions.
Solo career
After the death of Duane Allman in 1971, Gregg Allman started out on a solo career. His first album, Laid Back, was released in 1973 to a positive critical reception.It included a couple of reworked Allman Brothers songs, such as a horn-infused version of "Midnight Rider
Midnight Rider
"Midnight Rider" is a popular and widely covered song by The Allman Brothers Band, from their album Idlewild South. Written by Gregg Allman and Robert Kim Payne, the song has become a fixture of the band's live performances and an enduring standard...
" that made it to #19 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, and originals like "Queen of Hearts", the other ABB members felt did not quite fit the Allman Brothers sound. Gregg also covered a traditional gospel
Gospel music
Gospel music is music that is written to express either personal, spiritual or a communal belief regarding Christian life, as well as to give a Christian alternative to mainstream secular music....
song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken?" and former California roommate Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne
Jackson Browne is an American singer-songwriter and musician who has sold over 17 million albums in the United States alone....
's song "These Days
These Days (Jackson Browne song)
"These Days" is a song written by Jackson Browne and principally recorded by Nico, Gregg Allman, and Browne himself in three distinctly different musical styles...
."
His solo career has continued intermittently throughout the subsequent decades, sometimes touring when the Allman Brothers Band is off the road. Generally, these solo efforts - first with the Gregg Allman Band
Gregg Allman Band
The Gregg Allman Band, also known as Gregg Allman & Friends, is a Southern rock/blues rock group that Gregg Allman established and has led since the 1970s, during periods when Allman has been recording and performing separate from the Allman Brothers Band and has chosen not to perform exclusively...
, and later with Gregg Allman & Friends - eschew lengthy guitar solos and cast Allman more in the mode of his favorite soul
Soul music
Soul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
singers. The bands often include a horn section and are more groove-oriented, mixing original songs with reworked Allman Brothers songs and covers of blues, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, and soul songs.
Gregg's second chart single came in 1987 with the #49 peaking "I'm No Angel
I'm No Angel (song)
"I'm No Angel" is a 1987 single, written by Tony Colton and Phil Palmer and recorded by Gregg Allman, during the course of performing with the Gregg Allman Band...
", from the album of the same name. The album went on to be certified Gold for 500,000 copies sold and led to a renewed interest in Allman and to a reformation of the Allman Brothers Band less than three years later.
His latest solo album, Low Country Blues, was produced by T-Bone Burnett
T-Bone Burnett
Joseph Henry Burnett , widely known as T-Bone Burnett, is an American musician, songwriter, and soundtrack and record producer.He was a guitarist in Bob Dylan's band on the Rolling Thunder Revue...
and issued in early 2011. It is a collection of eleven blues standards and one new song written by Gregg.
He has also made guest appearances on albums and concert videos by a wide variety of other artists, including a concert DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of The Radiators
The Radiators (US)
The Radiators, also known as The New Orleans Radiators, are a rock band from New Orleans, Louisiana, who have combined the traditional musical styles of their native city with more mainstream rock and R&B influences to form a bouncy, funky variety of swamp-rock they call fish-head music...
, playing Midnight Rider with that band.
In addition to his musical career, Gregg took acting roles in the films Rush Week (1989) and Rush
Rush (1991 film)
Rush is a 1991 American crime drama feature film, based on a novel written by Kim Wozencraft. A narcotics detective and his inexperienced partner go after an elusive drug dealer...
(1991), and in episodes of the TV series Superboy
Superboy (TV series)
Superboy is a half-hour live-action television series based on the fictional DC Comics comic book character Kal-El's early years as Superboy. The show ran from 1988–1992 in syndication...
. He also had a brief speaking cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
in the Family Guy
Family Guy
Family Guy is an American animated television series created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series centers on the Griffins, a dysfunctional family consisting of parents Peter and Lois; their children Meg, Chris, and Stewie; and their anthropomorphic pet dog Brian...
episode "Let's Go to the Hop".
Personal life
Gregg has struggled with drugs from the 1970s and through much of his musical career. These were both illegal and legal, primarily cocaine, heroin, and alcohol. He has been sober as of the mid-1990s.During the mid 1970’s, there was a prominent court case involving Gregg and John ‘Scooter’ Herring, Gregg’s road manager.
He was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in late 2007[4] which he attributes to infection from his extensive tattooing and on June 23, 2010, he underwent surgery for a liver transplant. The operation was successful and he has recovered well. Despite this blow to his health, Gregg has resumed touring.
Marriages, relationships & children
Allman has been married at least six times and has several children and three grandchildren.His first son, Michael Sean Allman, who is a vocalist, was born in July 1966 to Mary Sutton. His marriage to Shelley Kay Winters (later Jefts), produced another son, Devon Allman
Devon Allman
Devon Allman is a vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist and songwriter. He is also the founder and bandleader of Honeytribe,...
, on August 10, 1972. Devon is also a musician, leads the band Honeytribe
Honeytribe
Honeytribe is an American blues rock band formed in Saint Louis, Missouri. The founder and bandleader is Devon Allman, son of Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, who is the lead guitarist, vocalist, and frontman. The other members are George Potsos on bass, and Justin Hanson on...
, and has appeared with the Allman Brothers Band on a few occasions.
At the time of his first solo album, Laid Back, Allman was married to Jan Blair, sister of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers are an American rock band from Gainesville, Florida. They were formed in 1976 by Tom Petty , Mike Campbell , Benmont Tench , , Ron Blair and Stan Lynch...
' bassist, Ron Blair
Ron Blair
Ron Blair is the original bassist for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He was the band's bassist from 1976 to 1981. In 2002, he returned to the group after a 21-year hiatus, replacing his own replacement, the late Howie Epstein.His father was a Navy man, so the family relocated every few years...
.
Allman was married to the entertainer Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...
from 1975 to 1979. They had one child together, a son, Elijah Blue Allman
Elijah Blue Allman
Elijah Blue Allman, also known by his stage name Phillips Exeter Blue I, is the son of Cher and her second husband Gregg Allman and half brother of Chaz Bono, Delilah Allman, Michael Allman, Layla Allman and Devon Allman....
, who later formed his own band, Deadsy
Deadsy
Deadsy is an American synth rock band from California. The band is known for its visual iconography and signature characteristics assigned to each band member. Each musician is identified by a specific color, stage name, and graphic tied into the band's theatrical nature. The band has released...
. The couple tried a musical collaboration, releasing an album Two the Hard Way
Two the Hard Way
-Credits:Personnel*Cher - lead vocals*Gregg Allman - lead vocalsProduction*Gregg Allman - record producer*Johnny Sandlin - record producer*John Haeny - record producer*Gregg Allman, Neil Larsen - keyboardsBand...
(billed as Allman and Woman) in 1977. It was universally panned, and it has long since been out of print. The Hard Way Tour did not achieve success either. In an interview on NPR's On Point
On Point
On Point is a two-hour call-in radio show hosted by Tom Ashbrook, a former The Boston Globe foreign editor and reporter, author and Internet entrepreneur. It is produced by WBUR in Boston and syndicated by National Public Radio...
in March 2011, Allman expressed that he and Cher split due largely to his desire to no longer live in Los Angeles, and his growing discomfort with his wife's celebrity lifestyle.
Allman was married to Julie Bindas from 1979 to 1981. They had a daughter, Delilah Island Allman, November 5, 1980.
In the late eighties he convinced the future porn actress Shannon Michelle Wilsey "Savannah" to travel to San José, California, to make a casting, when they arrived she discovered the movie thing was fake, later she was pregnant by him and lost the baby (or aborted it).
Around 1992, he met Shelby Blackburn, who had interviewed him at a radio station where she worked. Out of this relationship came daughter Layla Brooklyn Allman, born March 31, 1993. Layla fronts the band Picture Me Broken
Picture Me Broken
Picture Me Broken is an American five-piece rock band from Redwood City, California.-Band members:Current Members*Layla Brooklyn Allman – Vocals, Keyboards* Dante Phoenix – Lead Guitar* Jimmy Strimpel - Guitar* Austin Dunn – Bass Guitar...
.
He married Stacey Fountain in 2001.
Allman currently lives in Richmond Hill, Georgia
Richmond Hill, Georgia
Richmond Hill is a city in Bryan County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,959 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Savannah Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Richmond Hill is located at ....
.
Albums
- 1973 Laid BackLaid Back (Gregg Allman album)Laid Back is a 1973 album by Gregg Allman and was released on the Capricorn Records label. It peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1974....
- 1974 The Gregg Allman TourGregg Allman TourThe Gregg Allman Tour is a live album by Gregg Allman, released in 1974. It was recorded at Carnegie Hall and Capitol Theatre. It peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Pop Albums charts in 1974...
(live) - 1977 Playin' Up a StormPlayin' Up a StormPlayin' Up a Storm is a 1977 album by The Gregg Allman Band and was released on the Capricorn Records label. It peaked at number 42 on the U.S...
- The Gregg Allman Band - 1977 Two the Hard WayTwo the Hard Way-Credits:Personnel*Cher - lead vocals*Gregg Allman - lead vocalsProduction*Gregg Allman - record producer*Johnny Sandlin - record producer*John Haeny - record producer*Gregg Allman, Neil Larsen - keyboardsBand...
- Allman and Woman (Cher) - 1986 I'm No AngelI'm No Angel (album)I'm No Angel is an album by the Gregg Allman Band, released on Epic Records in 1986. The album is particularly notable for the strength of its title song, which was later covered by others, including Cher, Gregg Allman's former wife.- History :...
- The Gregg Allman Band - 1988 Just Before The Bullets FlyJust Before the Bullets FlyJust Before The Bullets Fly is an album by the Gregg Allman Band, released on Epic Records in 1988. The album peaked at number 117 in the Billboard 200 chart.- Track listing :#"Demons" – 3:28...
- The Gregg Allman Band - 1997 Searching for Simplicity
- 1997 One More Try: An Anthology
- 2002 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection (compilation)
- 2002 No Stranger to the Dark: The Best of Gregg Allman (different compilation, with three new tracks)
- 2011 Low Country Blues