Remembering Gregg Allman
We are starting to lose our musical heroes at an alarming rate. This weekend it was Gregg Allman, front man and focal point of the Allman Brothers Band, pioneers of the Southern rock movement of the 1970s, died Saturday, May 27 due to complications from liver cancer, his longtime manager, Michael Lehman, confirmed to Variety. He was 69. As recently as April 24, reports had circulated claiming Allman was in hospice care, although Lehman denied those reports, which Allman then substantiated in a Facebook post. However, he had suffered a number of ailments in recent years — including an irregular heartbeat, a respiratory infection, a hernia and a liver transplant — and cancelled many scheduled tour dates in recent months for health reasons. Lehman said that Allman’s liver cancer recurred around five years ago, but Allman had chosen to keep the news private. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts said, “It’s too soon to properly process this. I’m so glad I was able to have a couple good talks with him before he passed. In fact I was about to call him to check and see how he was when I got the call. It’s a very sad day.”
As a member of the Allman Brothers Band, Allman was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and was honored with a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2012. Allman had completed a solo album, Southern Blood that is set for release late this year. Lehman said they received some final mixes for the album last Friday, and Allman listened to them the night before his death. He added that Allman passed away with his family nearby, and was “at peace.”
Married and divorced six times, Allman is survived by his current wife, Shannon Allman, his children, Devon, Elijah Blue (by former wife Cher), Delilah Island Kurtom and Layla Brooklyn Allman; three grandchildren and a large extended family. Allman will be buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia, next to his brother Duane and former Allman bassist Berry Oakley (who died a year after Duane), Lehman said. Their mother’s ashes, currently in Gregg’s home, will be buried there as well. We strongly suggest you take the time to read the excellent Gregg Allman retrospective in Variety written by our friend and former colleague Chris Morris.
• The Mix Group has produced a complimentary Gregg Allman audio tribute that is available online. [Gregg Allman photo by Patricia O’Driscoll]
