Drummer, co founder of the Allman Brothers Band. That group made some great music over the years, my music icons are passing on one by one.
I was a huge Allman Bros. fan back in the day...saw them a total of 4 times. Had all their albums and remember Duanne Allman being killed while riding a murdercycle right after Eat a Peach came out...and then bassist Barry Oakley also being killed on a cycle shortly thereafter. ...followed a lot of Southern rock bands back then...Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker, Wet Willie, et al.
The Allmans had a nice feel to their music, made me want to get up and Boogie, I was across the pond for much of their heyday, had some of their albums. Liked many of their tunes with "Blue Sky" being may favorite. Per a Peter Gammons interview a few years ago Butch Trucks is the nephew of former MLB Pitcher Virgil Trucks. Pretty good baseball and music talent within that family. When seeing these people now passing what seems in droves in a damn rude awakening to ones mortality.
^^^I had no idea they were related. ...saw the Allman Bros. in Macon/Byron back in the seventies at an outdoor concert...they played their most notable songs and near the end they brought out a guest who at first I didn't recognize. He started out by blowing me away with his talent on the harmonica but when all of a sudden he started singing and I knew right away who it was...it was Jimmy Hall from Wet Willie. That boy can wail ! ...here's my fav Wet Willie tune (gotta listen to the whole song and the lyrics) featuring Ricky Hirsch who later played lead guitar on Greg Allman's "Playin Up a Storm" album...and of course, Jimmy Hall (harmonica and vocals); ...as far as the Allman Brothers, this is my fav, I know it's a cover of an old song but I've never heard anyone do it better;
Old Gammons is a butthead Boston propagandist but he's pretty good on his music history as well as baseball. Does not play a bad guitar either, saw him do a tune with George Thorogood. Until this years world series Virgil Trucks was the last pitcher alive that faced the Cubs in a World Series ('45).
When living in Orlando in the late Nineties, I used to catch the syndicated broadcasts of the John Boy and Billy show on the local Classic Rock Station. Those guys really came up with some funny stuff one which was an out take from a Duane Allman session in Muscle Shoals which went: My wife left me five years ago I'm a happy married man, Now I run free all over town, jumping all the women I can One fact about the Allman Brothers Band that I heard from many was those guys really loved to play and gave more than their all on tours, so I could see them cutting up a bit.
The local Classic Rock station in this area is so bad that if John Boy & Billy found out their syndicated show was aired on that station they'd probably want it pulled. One remark they made that really cracked me up was "Todays Country Singers had never seen an outhouse let alone used one"
^^^^ outstanding stuff, from the Allman bros, to Virgil Trucks (related) trivia... I don't think a young male/female could of been of age in the 60s-90s and not be influenced or love the Allman Bros. Dwayne's loss was devastating to the music world. Amazed me how Greg, Dickie Betts, and co. picked themselves up by the bootstraps, and continued on...........as classic as it gets, esp for memorable classic Southern music of its day..... I lived but 100 feet from Hwy 41 the 2 years living in GA. Never was a day, the lines "rolling down highway 41" didn't roll in my head, or the fateful death of Duane on the very Hwy....ntm- the loss of the 1st friend I made in GA. who also lost his life going 'round a 40mph corner on Hwy 41, at 120+mph...... ridiculous, one reason I left GA. I couldn't handle the thought of selling a brand new house, just to get away from a death scene out my front door........hello Luzianna......! Saw the Allman Bros in Macon 1997, which was the one place I've always wanted to see them play, in their own backyard.... what a show, what a band, what a bunch of great musicians......
; I've had the same conversation with the wife and her Brother, both of whom are CW fans. IMO, most of what they're calling Country music these days is more like some sort of "cross over" music mixed with rap/hip hop. And many of the singers are using a fake "twang" or accent and sing nothing like they talk in real life. ...also, just because someone wears a cowboy hat or sports an over sized belt buckle doesn't make you "country...and as far as being part of the "country western" genre, people like Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Fla/Ga Line et al are phony and contrived...nowadays, it has more to do with marketing than talent or being genuine.
When Loretta Lynn did those Johnsons paste wax commercials one knew that she was right on the mark through life experience. If I saw Taylor Swift doing the same I'd have a damn hard time believing it. Kitty Wells was always my favorite female Country Singer, loved that keening voice of hers, still play and sing her stuff today. In '92 she had a tour date at the Sanford Florida fairgrounds. Also included in that show were Billy Walker, and Jack Greene. It was bitter cold that night but those people put on one hell of an outdoor show. When finished they all came out for a meet and greet, signed autographs and talked to the fans. Quite a night. I had a great conversation with her husband Johnny and son Bobby Wright. I also chatted with Kitty herself a bit and she signed the Albums I bought. Pretty damn good.
These marketed pro tool "stars" of today with all their money, internet BS among other things. Will they or their music be missed when their "fans" approach the same age as current Boomers. Not a God Damn chance. I remember being taught Hi-Fi Technology so I could obtain a nice sound system and putting my vinyl to tape in the correct manner. Made one appreciate the music even more. Now you have a bunch of morons listening to their "heroes" on smart phones walking around like a bunch of hypnotized zombies. A real crock of shit. I spent a few hours one day listening to current "music" found the only redeeming feature to be the off button on the radio.
^^^The other litmus test for me is how good do some of these wannabes sound live in concert as opposed to the studio?...most can't come close to reproducing the same sound when performing live.
That gap is closing as well, just go to the TC Helicon site and check out the vocal pedals. Some are guitar driven some not. I have the TC Helicon Harmony Singer pedal, one hell of a piece of gear. It has room, hall, and club reverb each setting volume adjustable to users choice. There are also eight harmony selections that permit one or two additions to your own voice in basic thirds and fifths above or 4th and 6ths below. In addition to that each harmony setting is volume adjusted. That pedal is pretty much at the bottom of the chain. Of course that won't always work, remembering Fabian, they used every trick available for that guy didn't seem to work but he was "cute" so the chickies bought his records
^^^ agreed on Fabian and those like him...hell I'm no accomplished singer but if you put me in a studio and tweak the mike settings and the EQ and maybe add some reverb, and give me 20 takes, and then let the engineer do his thing with some editing, I bet I'd sound just as good as many of today's "artists".
I've done some recording and yes some things like compression, reverb, and sensitive Telefunken Mics were pretty much everybody items. Never used double track or any of the other upward devices. We turned out some pretty honest recordings over there. I don't know what was more scary doing it, or playing it back for others to hear. At any rate for me it was dream come true, just the idea that I got to do it was cool.
