Title Page

Summary of Brothers and Sisters

A

Summary of

Alan Paul’s book

The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside

Story of the Album That Defined the '70s

GP SUMMARY

Summary of Brothers and Sisters by Alan Paul: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the '70s

By GP SUMMARY© 2023, GP SUMMARY.

All rights reserved.

Author: GP SUMMARY

Contact: GP.SUMMARY@gmail.com

Cover, illustration: GP SUMMARY

Editing, proofreading: GP SUMMARY

Other collaborators: GP SUMMARY

NOTE TO READERS

This is an unofficial summary & analysis of Alan Paul’s “Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and the Inside Story of the Album That Defined the '70s” designed to enrich your reading experience.

 

DISCLAIMER

The contents of the summary are not intended to replace the original book. It is meant as a supplement to enhance the reader's understanding. The contents within can neither be stored electronically, transferred, nor kept in a database. Neither part nor full can the document be copied, scanned, faxed, or retained without the approval from the publisher or creator.

Limit of Liability

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This eBook may not be resold or given away to other people. If you are reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy. You agree to accept all risks of using the information presented inside this book.

Copyright 2023. All rights reserved.

NOTE

In September 2021, the author flew back from Macon, Georgia, carrying a suitcase full of cassette tapes that an old friend promised would shed new light on the Allman Brothers Band and American culture. Kirk West, a longtime Allman Brothers insider, had recorded hundreds of hours of interviews with the band in the mid-1980s for a book he never wrote. The tapes provided original insights into the band's history, personalities, motivations, and relationships with one another. The author digitized the cassettes and spent hours listening to the members and their extended band family, providing a deeper understanding of the band's history and personalities. The author credits Kirk West for being an Allman Brothers Band insider in the first place, and their relationship began based on mutual professional respect. The sources for quotes used in the text are detailed in the book's notes, and any undocumented information comes from the author's own interviews.

PREFACE

The Allman Brothers Band's five-year period between Duane Allman's death in 1971 and their 1976 breakup is a remarkable period in rock history and American culture. The band was at the center of various societal divides, including civil rights, the Grateful Dead, and celebrity culture. They were intimately linked to the Grateful Dead and Lynyrd Skynyrd, and their involvement in the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen showcased their diverse and influential presence.

The band's success was fueled by their collaboration with the Grateful Dead, which led to their third release, At Fillmore East, which captured the original six-piece band in full flight. However, Duane Allman's death in 1971 and bassist Berry Oakley's death a year later further strained the band. The band's transformation from a modern blues group based in Georgia to a Macon sound was a testament to their resilience and transformation. Understanding the roots of the Allman Brothers Band is crucial to comprehending Brothers and Sisters and the events that led to their demise.

BEGINNINGS

Duane Allman, the older brother of Gregg Allman, was eagerly awaiting his younger brother's graduation from Seabreeze High in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Allman Joys, their band, was popular locally, and Duane, one year older, thought his brother's insistence on finishing high school showed a lack of faith. Duane quit school in ninth grade in favor of shooting pool and playing music, working anywhere he could, including as the bassist in a strip-club band. Trying to get him back on track, Geraldine sent both boys back to Castle Heights Military Academy, which they had attended as young kids. Duane didn't make it through the year, returning home, never to attend school again.

When Gregg finally graduated in 1965, the boys got to work. The Allman Joys became popular on the Florida club scene and slowly expanded their reach across the Southeast. After two years of pounding the circuit with little to show for it other than sharpened skills, they impressed the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and its manager, Bill McEuen, during a monthlong engagement in Saint Louis in 1967.

In May 1967, the Allman Joys arrived in Hollywood at the beginning of the Summer of Love and signed to Liberty Records, renamed them Hour Glass. The band's first California gig was a late-night set following the Doors at the Hullabaloo club on Hollywood's Sunset Boulevard. The band was disgruntled with the way Liberty dressed them up like hippie Kewpie dolls and dictated their musical approach. Hour Glass made their mark onstage, garnering attention from fellow musicians and informed observers.

Duane and Gregg were leading a killer progressive blues-rock band, but producer Dallas Smith had a different vision, envisioning Hour Glass as a "hippie version of the Righteous Brothers." After their second album, Power of Love, Duane quit the band and stormed out of the studio. After returning to Los Angeles, Gregg played with a variety of people, including some members of Poco. Duane made his mark as a session guitarist and proposed that superstar Wilson Pickett record the Beatles' "Hey Jude," a current top 10 hit. Eric Clapton, a revered electric guitarist, was inspired by Duane Allman's work on "Wicked Pickett." Allman became a first-call player at Muscle Shoals and New York, working with artists like Aretha Franklin and King Curtis. He wanted to move on and play live, and his time in the studio helped him hone his tone and become more disciplined.

Hall, who recognized Duane's brilliance, sold the contract and early tracks to a team of Atlantic's Jerry Wexler and Phil Walden. Wexler recognized Duane's potential as the next Jimi Hendrix or Eric Clapton, and Walden, who had recently founded Capricorn Records, wanted to start an Atlantic-distributed boutique label.

Atlantic advanced Walden $75,000 against royalties for exclusive rights to produce and distribute any recordings he made for three years. Walden put up about $250,000 in cash and borrowed $65,000 from Citizen and Southern National Bank, which was a risky move for the stolid Georgia institution. Walden's career had largely been spent promoting Black artists to Black audiences, but an intense experience at a 1968 Miami Beach conference pushed him towards rock and roll.

Duane Allman's ambitions for Capricorn grew, and he signed Duane to a deal. He traveled to Muscle Shoals, met Phil Walden, and agreed to sign Duane to his new label. The tracks Allman and Hall were already recording for a planned solo album featured Paul Hornsby and Johnny Sandlin, but they didn't cut it. Walden recognized that Sandlin and Hornsby were not the right guys for Duane's new project, and hired them as studio musicians.

Duane didn't want to think about business or explain anything, as his brother didn't have a lot of patience with anyone slowing down his trip.

THE BOYS IN THE BAND

DUANE ALLMAN envisioned a grander, more spiritual quest for his dream band, starting with drummer Jaimoe. Born Johnie Lee Johnson, Jaimoe had been touring the "chitlin' circuit" of Black clubs with R&B stars like Otis Redding, Joe Tex, and Percy Sledge. He wanted to move to New York to try to make it as a jazz musician. Jaimoe was a drummer who had backed several of Walden's clients, and Duane knew he was the right man.

Jaimoe and Duane began jamming, and they formed a bond that would change the musical world. Duane sought additional players, and he found bassist Berry Oakley in Jacksonville. Oakley's band Second Coming included guitarists Dickey Betts and Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt, who would later join Iron Butterfly and become a member of Stevie Ray Vaughan's Double Trouble.

Betts's distinctive melodic sense led him to consistently come up with memorable lines, which Duane jumped on, using his perfect pitch and technical facility to add harmony and counterpoint on the fly. This simpatico musical relationship helped create and define one of the greatest guitar partnerships in rock and roll history.

Betts had a broad musical range that extended in multiple directions, including acoustic blues, western swing, jazz, country, and acoustic string music. He played ukulele and fiddle, and was even a member of a banjo group long before he ever picked up an electric guitar.

Betts's personality was as complex as his musical background, as he was a tightly coiled athlete with a mighty temper and a student of Zen Buddhism and karate. Together, they rewrote the book on how two rock guitarists could play together, a dynamic that changed popular music. Dickey Betts, a multifaceted musician with a Jekyll and Hyde personality, played a significant role in the Allman Brothers Band. He was a true believer in the hippie ethos of the era and would go on to write some of the most peaceful, joyful songs in the rock canon. Betts could be quiet and thoughtful, expounding on Buddhism, jazz, architecture, or country music, or disappear into his thoughts, vanishing behind a blank gaze that unnerved people. His multifaceted musical background and Jekyll and Hyde personality would eventually be evident in his playing, which formed a large part of the Allman Brothers Band sound.

Betts had a genius for inserting bluegrass-type melody into blues and rock songs, and his melodic ideas were shaped by a strong rhythmic drive. He dismantled banjos to create a drum set out of the heads, and he never lost his interest in percussion, practicing drum rudiments for years. He had the ambitious goal of creating a singularly unique voice on the guitar, remaining rooted in the blues without mimicking the masters’ ideas and licks.

Duane discussed having two drummers and had someone in mind. Jacksonville's Butch Trucks had played a few Allman Joys gigs as a sub, and Duane and Gregg had recorded with him and the 31st of February just a few months earlier. Trucks was the lone Allman Brothers Band member to have attended college, lasting just one year at Florida State. Duane drove Jaimoe to Butch's Jacksonville house, introduced them, and left the two drummers to sort things out.

Their initial communication came through the one thing they both knew how to do without saying much: playing music. They both knew how to play without saying much, and their bond was simple and simpatico. With Butch in the driver's seat and taking command, the whole band quickly began playing at a very high level.

Betts would emerge a few years later as a strong singer, but he did not initially sing at all. Duane and Oakley were handling the vocals, and their manager knew they needed someone stronger to front the band. Gregg was suggested as the simple answer to the band's singer problem, but Duane balked at Walden's suggestion. Gregg Allman, a fantastic singer and songwriter, was intimidated to sing with Duane's cohesive band, but he passed the audition with flying colors. The Allman Brothers Band, formed by Duane, Gregg, Trucks, Oakley, Jaimoe, and Betts, was a seasoned road musician with years of touring and performing experience.

The band played a few informal gigs, absorbing some of Second Coming's fan base and repertoire. Duane called Walden and asked for a place to stay in Macon to get started.

The newly christened Allman Brothers Band moved together into an apartment in Twiggs Lyndon's building at 309 College Street. Lyndon, a devoted Duane acolyte, became a loyal ally in the band's early years. He was a tightly wound, meticulous man who became a devoted Duane acolyte.

The band had a deep bond, powerful, original music, and Walden's financial backing. Their self-titled 1969 debut came and went without much notice, but their second album, 1970's Idlewild South, cracked the top 40. Their moment seemed to have arrived with At Fillmore East, a release that validated everyone's confidence that the Allman Brothers Band was coming into its own and about to be acknowledged as the greatest band in the land.

END OF THE LINE

At Fillmore East, the album released in October 1971, was a success, with the band climbing the charts. However, Duane's impulsive personality likely cost him his life, as he died at the Macon Medical Center after several hours of surgery. The Allman Brothers Band, which had been a visionary leader for years, faced a difficult time after Duane's death. The band could work around the musical hole left by Duane's death, but replacing his leadership would be more difficult.

Duane's bandmates followed him without asking, providing an emotional equilibrium. Gregg and Dickey were not well suited to step forward as leader, and Oakley was the most logical choice. However, he was mired in an alarmingly deep depression. The band agreed to take six months off, but they went crazy almost immediately and started hanging out together.

The Allman Brothers Band's commercial fortunes were finally looking up, but tensions had been mounting and drug use spiraled out of control, with most members addicted to heroin. In October, Duane had barged into Trucks's hotel room and screamed at him, complaining that the rhythm section was "pumping away" for Dickey but "laying back and not pushing at all" when he played. Trucks stared down his bandleader, Duane, and warned him about the increasing heroin use.

Duane received the message and flew to Buffalo, New York, for a week of drug rehab at the Linwood-Bryant Hospital. The band members were not able to address their addiction, and no one seemed to think that dedication to sobriety meant anything other than not using heroin. Duane's leadership had kept the band moving forward, but his skills were being challenged like never before.

Gregg was devastated and adrift, and Duane was not only his big brother but also his father figure, protector, scold, and inspiration. The Allman Brothers Band faced a perilous situation on the night of Duane's death, with Gregg overdosed and almost dying, and Oakley flipped his car. The band's members, including Gregg, Otis Walden, and Gregg, were deeply affected by the loss of their beloved members. Duane was charming and eloquent, and his passing was a shock to everyone. The band prepared to return to New York to perform, but the fans were apprehensive.

The first show without Duane was at Long Island's C.W. Post College on November 22, 1971, three weeks after the funeral. Post College, and the crowd cheered them on. Gregg Allman was amazed by the grace with which his musical partner, Dickey, handled the difficult task of replicating Allman's slide parts on songs like "Statesboro Blues." Betts, an accomplished acoustic slide player, was grueling to play slide, but he was praised for his ability to handle Duane's death.

Allman and Betts would be engaged in a battle for control of the band that would wax and wane for decades before boiling over in 2000, leading to a bitter split. However, they rallied together in the aftermath of Duane's passing. The band performed at Carnegie Hall, then did two more weeks of shows in the mid-Atlantic region and the South. The band's members remembered the memories of Duane, the band's music, and the friendship they had with each other.

WILL THE CIRCLE BE UNBROKEN?

Before Duane Allman's death, the Allman Brothers had already recorded songs for their third studio album, Eat a Peach. After their New York shows, the band returned to Criteria Studios to finish the album, recording "Melissa" and writing and recording Gregg's "Ain't Wastin' Time No More" and Betts's "Les Brers in A Minor." All three songs were a tribute to Duane Allman, their way of expressing what they were feeling at that moment. Producer Tom Dowd approached these Duaneless sessions with trepidation, finding a group being "super delicate" with one another and leery of getting in each other's way. The only ones who seemed to have thoughts as to what they needed to do to finish were Berry and Butch. Johnny Sandlin played a vital role in keeping the sessions on track, as he was simultaneously working with Stephen Stills's Manassas on their debut album in the studio next door.

Betts

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.08.2023
ISBN: 978-3-7554-4903-4

Alle Rechte vorbehalten

Widmung:
The Allman Brothers Band's Brothers and Sisters is a bestselling album and influential release in rock and roll and American history. Celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, the book explores the band's relationship with the Grateful Dead, influence on southern rock, and impact on the presidential campaign.