Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
The Allman Brothers Band formed in 1969 in Macon, Georgia, United States an… Read Full Bio ↴The Allman Brothers Band formed in 1969 in Macon, Georgia, United States and blended different strains of Southern Rock related music— Blues, Country, Gospel, Jazz, and more— into a flexible, jam-oriented Rock and Roll style. Reflecting the emergence of the "New South" and setting the style for Lynyrd Skynyrd, the Marshall Tucker Band, and many other bands, the Allman Brothers Band also oddly— or eerily, some would say— had an unusual string of untimely deaths, a pattern similar to other Southern rockers. Through personal tragedy and turmoil, the group endured for decades. Reaching the peak of their commercial clout in the early 70s, they were highly respected and well received by legions of fans. Lead guitarist and band leader Duane Allman has been recognized as one of the greatest blues and rock guitarists in history, according to numerous polls.
Brothers Gregg Allman and Duane Allman were living in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1960, and played in various bands until 1964, when they formed the Escorts, which became the Allman Joys in 1965. After their version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful” failed as a single, the two brothers and three other band members went to L.A., where they signed with Liberty Records as the Hourglass. They recorded two albums of outside material (Hourglass, 1967, and Power of Love, 1968) before heading to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record at Fame Studios. Liberty rejected the resulting tapes, and Duane and Gregg returned to Florida.
Soon after, the brothers joined the 31st of February, whose drummer was Butch Trucks. After recording an album, Gregg went back to L.A. to make good on the Liberty contract. (A 1973 Bold album called Duane and Gregg consisted of tapes made by the 31st of February.) Duane stayed in Jacksonville, where he began playing with the Second Coming, which included Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley, veterans of Tommy Roe and the Romans.
But before Duane became an established member of the Second Coming, Fame Studios owner Rick Hall asked him to return to Muscle Shoals to play lead guitar for a Wilson Pickett session. At Duane’s suggestion, Pickett recorded Lennon and McCartney’s “Hey Jude.” Duane became Fame’s primary session guitarist, recording over the next year with Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Percy Sledge, Clarence Carter, and Arthur Conley, and signing with Fame Productions as a solo artist. He also collaborated with Eric Clapton on the Derek and the Dominos album which produced the classic “Layla.”
At the urging of Atlantic Records vice president Jerry Wexler, Phil Walden bought the Fame contract, with the notion to build a band around Duane for his upstart Capricorn Records. Allman hired "Jaimoe" Jai Johanny Johanson, a Muscle Shoals drummer who had worked with Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Joe Tex, and Clifton Chenier. He went back to Florida and reconvened Trucks, Oakley, Betts, and Gregg. Once assembled, the Allman Brothers Band moved to Macon, Georgia, where Walden was launching Capricorn. (In 1991 Trucks said of the group’s long tenure with the label: “We had grossed $40 million and woke up one day to realize our own manager [Phil Walden] had cheated us out of every cent.”) The Allman Brothers Band, the group’s debut, was well received only in the South. After its release, Duane continued to play on sessions with Boz Scaggs, Laura Nyro, Otis Rush, Delaney and Bonnie, Ronnie Hawkins, and John Hammond. He appears with Eric Clapton on Derek and the Dominos’ Layla. (His session work is collected on the two Anthology volumes.)
On the strength of the Allman Brothers’ growing reputation as a live band, its second album sold well. In March 1971, four shows at New York’s Fillmore East were recorded for release as a live double LP set in July. By the time the album reached the Top 10, the Allman Brothers Band was being hailed in print as “America’s best rock & roll group.” But on October 29, 1971, less than three months after At Fillmore East’s release, Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon. The group played at his funeral and decided to continue without a new guitarist. Three songs on their next LP, Eat a Peach, had been recorded before Duane’s death, and with live material from the Fillmore East concerts, the double LP was released in February, entered the chart in the Top 10, and rose to #4. In 1972, Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash three blocks from the site of Duane’s accident a year earlier.
Dickey Betts, by then the band’s unofficial leader, wrote and sang “Ramblin’ Man,” the band’s first and biggest hit single (#2, 1973); Brothers and Sisters went to #1, with Lamar Williams, a childhood friend of Jaimoe’s, taking Oakley’s place, and Chuck Leavell on keyboards. The first two albums, when reissued as Beginnings, more than doubled their original sales. The group returned to the road after two years. In Watkins Glen, New York, 600,000 people gathered in July 1973 for an all-day concert by the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead, and the Band. There was growing dissension in the group, however, as Gregg and Betts began to disagree over schedules and musical direction. In 1974 they each released a Top 20 solo album (Allman’s Laid Back and Betts’ Highway Call), and Allman formed the Gregg Allman Band with Johanson, Leavell, Williams, and others to tour and record The Gregg Allman Tour. The subsequent Allman Brothers Band album, Win, Lose or Draw (#5, 1975), sold well, but it was four years before the next album of new material; The Road Goes On Forever, a compilation, and Wipe the Windows, a live collection, were released in 1976. By 1975, Allman was involved in a tumultuous marriage to Cher (they divorced in 1979). They had a son, Elijah Blue, in 1977. Their 1977 LP, Allman and Woman: Two the Hard Way, was universally panned.
But the greatest blow to the group occurred in 1976, when Allman testified against Scooter Herring, his personal road manager, charged with dealing narcotics. Herring was subsequently sentenced to 75 years in prison (later reduced to two years on appeal). Allman’s action, the others said, betrayed the fraternal loyalty that had sustained them: They vowed never to work with him again. The members pursued separate but at times intertwining paths. Betts formed Great Southern, duplicating the original Allman Brothers lineup with two guitars, two drums, bass, keyboards, and vocals. Only the group’s first album charted in the Top 100. After Allman’s disastrous duet LP with Cher, he regrouped the Gregg Allman Band, with no help from any former Brothers, and put out Playin’ Up a Storm in 1977. The other members also remained active: Trucks studied music at Florida State University for two years and formed an experimental group, Trucks. Leavell, Williams, and Johanson, with guitarist Jimmy Nails, formed the fusion-oriented Sea Level. Later, Leavell returned to session work, notably with the Rolling Stones, with whom he has toured since 1989.
In 1978, the Allman Brothers Band regrouped for the first time. After Allman, Trucks, and Jaimoe joined Betts and Great Southern onstage in New York in 1978, Great Southern guitarist Dan Toler and bassist Rook Goldflies also joined the new Allman Brothers Band. Enlightened Rogues (#9, 1979) was certified gold within two weeks of its release. Two years later Brothers of the Road gave the group a minor hit single, “Straight From the Heart.” The group broke up again in 1980. In 1983 Lamar Williams died of Agent Orange–related cancer. Betts recorded an album with the Dickey Betts Band, and Allman released I’m No Angel (#30, 1987) with its #49 title track.
Regrouping yet again in 1989 with core members Allman, Betts, Jaimoe, and Trucks, the Allman Brothers Band took to the road. Dreams, a box set, compiles songs from 1966 to 1988. The group’s recent albums and performances have attracted a new generation of fans who have come to appreciate the Allman Brothers as the root of much latter-day collegiate jam rock. There was renewed critical respect, as well, especially for Allman’s singing and writing. Allman, who finally won his struggles with heroin and alcohol, has also acted, appearing in the film Rush and the syndicated TV series Superboy.
In 1995 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and released 2nd Set. It received its first Grammy Award (for Best Rock Instrumental Performance) the next year, for “Jessica.” Gregg Allman released his first solo recording in a decade with 1997’s Searching for Simplicity, which opens with a remake of the Allman Brothers’ classic blues “Whipping Post.” Allman’s solo anthology, One More Try, includes only eight previously released songs.
A series of personnel changes, and the occasional intramural ruckus, have kept the band in flux. In 1996, Warren Haynes and Allen Woody left to work full-time with their own project, the blues-rock trio Gov’t Mule. Guitarist Jack Pearson, who cowrote Gregg Allman’s epic “Sailin’ ’Cross the Devil’s Sea,” and bassist Oteil Burbridge (Aquarium Rescue Unit) replaced them. Pearson’s departure in 1999 made way for 20-year-old guitarist Derek Trucks, Butch’s nephew, to join a band he had been sitting in with for years. In June 2000, Betts was ousted via fax from the band on the eve of a summer tour. Soon thereafter, he put together a new eight-piece band, touring as the Dickey Betts Band. Not long after that, Warren Haynes rejoined the Allman Brothers.
Upon inducting the Allman Brothers Band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Willie Nelson said:
"The Allman Brothers Band took what moved them and merged it into something unique that audiences love: a sound that redefined the direction of rock and roll, and opened the doors to a spirit of experimentation that continues in today's music.
"The Allman Brothers Band were and still are one of the most exciting live bands ever to hit the stage. They became road warriors with a vengeance and left devoted fans wherever they went. The ABB is a band that reflects so many of my sentiments about music: originality, a determination not be confined musically or stylistically but instead to forge your own way and make music that moves you, a devotion to the road, and understanding that beyond pleasing yourself as an artist, the only other consideration should be the people, the fans who come to hear you.
"And so with pleasure, I give you rock and roll's greatest jammin' blues band, the Allman Brothers Band!"
In 2014, the Allman Brothers Band announced they were breaking up, for good this time, after 45 years. After they played their final show, countless fans across the globe played tribute. Gregg Allman has since toured as a solo artist.
Lineups (Past & Present)
1969 - 1976 (Original to First Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Duane Allman - guitar, slide guitar (1969 - 1971; died 1971)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Berry Oakley - bass, vocals (1969-1972; died 1972)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Chuck Leavell - piano, synthesiser, background vocals (1972-1976, 1986)
Lamar Williams - bass, vocals (1972-1976; died 1983)
1978 - 1982 (First Reformation to Second Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Dan Toler - guitar (1978-1982, 1986; died 2013)
David Goldflies - bass (1978-1982)
David 'Frankie' Toler - drums (1980-1982; died 2011)
Mike Lawler - keyboards (1980-1982)
1986 - 1986 (Second Reformation to Third Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Dan Toler - guitar (1978-1982, 1986; died 2013)
Chuck Leavell - piano, synthesiser, background vocals (1972-1976, 1986)
1989 - Present
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Warren Haynes - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1989-1997, 2000–present)
Allen Woody - bass, background vocals (1989-1997; died 2000)
Johnny Neel - keyboards, harmonica (1989-1990)
Marc Quiñones - drums, percussion, background vocals (1991–present)
Oteil Burbridge - bass, vocals (1997–present)
Jack Pearson - guitar, vocals (1997-1999)
Derek Trucks - guitar, slide guitar (1999–present)
Jimmy Herring - guitar (2000)
Current members
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Warren Haynes - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1989-1997, 2000–present)
Marc Quiñones - drums, percussion, background vocals (1991–present)
Oteil Burbridge - bass, vocals (1997–present)
Derek Trucks - guitar, slide guitar (1999–present)
Brothers Gregg Allman and Duane Allman were living in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1960, and played in various bands until 1964, when they formed the Escorts, which became the Allman Joys in 1965. After their version of Willie Dixon’s “Spoonful” failed as a single, the two brothers and three other band members went to L.A., where they signed with Liberty Records as the Hourglass. They recorded two albums of outside material (Hourglass, 1967, and Power of Love, 1968) before heading to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record at Fame Studios. Liberty rejected the resulting tapes, and Duane and Gregg returned to Florida.
Soon after, the brothers joined the 31st of February, whose drummer was Butch Trucks. After recording an album, Gregg went back to L.A. to make good on the Liberty contract. (A 1973 Bold album called Duane and Gregg consisted of tapes made by the 31st of February.) Duane stayed in Jacksonville, where he began playing with the Second Coming, which included Dickey Betts and Berry Oakley, veterans of Tommy Roe and the Romans.
But before Duane became an established member of the Second Coming, Fame Studios owner Rick Hall asked him to return to Muscle Shoals to play lead guitar for a Wilson Pickett session. At Duane’s suggestion, Pickett recorded Lennon and McCartney’s “Hey Jude.” Duane became Fame’s primary session guitarist, recording over the next year with Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Percy Sledge, Clarence Carter, and Arthur Conley, and signing with Fame Productions as a solo artist. He also collaborated with Eric Clapton on the Derek and the Dominos album which produced the classic “Layla.”
At the urging of Atlantic Records vice president Jerry Wexler, Phil Walden bought the Fame contract, with the notion to build a band around Duane for his upstart Capricorn Records. Allman hired "Jaimoe" Jai Johanny Johanson, a Muscle Shoals drummer who had worked with Otis Redding, Percy Sledge, Joe Tex, and Clifton Chenier. He went back to Florida and reconvened Trucks, Oakley, Betts, and Gregg. Once assembled, the Allman Brothers Band moved to Macon, Georgia, where Walden was launching Capricorn. (In 1991 Trucks said of the group’s long tenure with the label: “We had grossed $40 million and woke up one day to realize our own manager [Phil Walden] had cheated us out of every cent.”) The Allman Brothers Band, the group’s debut, was well received only in the South. After its release, Duane continued to play on sessions with Boz Scaggs, Laura Nyro, Otis Rush, Delaney and Bonnie, Ronnie Hawkins, and John Hammond. He appears with Eric Clapton on Derek and the Dominos’ Layla. (His session work is collected on the two Anthology volumes.)
On the strength of the Allman Brothers’ growing reputation as a live band, its second album sold well. In March 1971, four shows at New York’s Fillmore East were recorded for release as a live double LP set in July. By the time the album reached the Top 10, the Allman Brothers Band was being hailed in print as “America’s best rock & roll group.” But on October 29, 1971, less than three months after At Fillmore East’s release, Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon. The group played at his funeral and decided to continue without a new guitarist. Three songs on their next LP, Eat a Peach, had been recorded before Duane’s death, and with live material from the Fillmore East concerts, the double LP was released in February, entered the chart in the Top 10, and rose to #4. In 1972, Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash three blocks from the site of Duane’s accident a year earlier.
Dickey Betts, by then the band’s unofficial leader, wrote and sang “Ramblin’ Man,” the band’s first and biggest hit single (#2, 1973); Brothers and Sisters went to #1, with Lamar Williams, a childhood friend of Jaimoe’s, taking Oakley’s place, and Chuck Leavell on keyboards. The first two albums, when reissued as Beginnings, more than doubled their original sales. The group returned to the road after two years. In Watkins Glen, New York, 600,000 people gathered in July 1973 for an all-day concert by the Allman Brothers Band, the Grateful Dead, and the Band. There was growing dissension in the group, however, as Gregg and Betts began to disagree over schedules and musical direction. In 1974 they each released a Top 20 solo album (Allman’s Laid Back and Betts’ Highway Call), and Allman formed the Gregg Allman Band with Johanson, Leavell, Williams, and others to tour and record The Gregg Allman Tour. The subsequent Allman Brothers Band album, Win, Lose or Draw (#5, 1975), sold well, but it was four years before the next album of new material; The Road Goes On Forever, a compilation, and Wipe the Windows, a live collection, were released in 1976. By 1975, Allman was involved in a tumultuous marriage to Cher (they divorced in 1979). They had a son, Elijah Blue, in 1977. Their 1977 LP, Allman and Woman: Two the Hard Way, was universally panned.
But the greatest blow to the group occurred in 1976, when Allman testified against Scooter Herring, his personal road manager, charged with dealing narcotics. Herring was subsequently sentenced to 75 years in prison (later reduced to two years on appeal). Allman’s action, the others said, betrayed the fraternal loyalty that had sustained them: They vowed never to work with him again. The members pursued separate but at times intertwining paths. Betts formed Great Southern, duplicating the original Allman Brothers lineup with two guitars, two drums, bass, keyboards, and vocals. Only the group’s first album charted in the Top 100. After Allman’s disastrous duet LP with Cher, he regrouped the Gregg Allman Band, with no help from any former Brothers, and put out Playin’ Up a Storm in 1977. The other members also remained active: Trucks studied music at Florida State University for two years and formed an experimental group, Trucks. Leavell, Williams, and Johanson, with guitarist Jimmy Nails, formed the fusion-oriented Sea Level. Later, Leavell returned to session work, notably with the Rolling Stones, with whom he has toured since 1989.
In 1978, the Allman Brothers Band regrouped for the first time. After Allman, Trucks, and Jaimoe joined Betts and Great Southern onstage in New York in 1978, Great Southern guitarist Dan Toler and bassist Rook Goldflies also joined the new Allman Brothers Band. Enlightened Rogues (#9, 1979) was certified gold within two weeks of its release. Two years later Brothers of the Road gave the group a minor hit single, “Straight From the Heart.” The group broke up again in 1980. In 1983 Lamar Williams died of Agent Orange–related cancer. Betts recorded an album with the Dickey Betts Band, and Allman released I’m No Angel (#30, 1987) with its #49 title track.
Regrouping yet again in 1989 with core members Allman, Betts, Jaimoe, and Trucks, the Allman Brothers Band took to the road. Dreams, a box set, compiles songs from 1966 to 1988. The group’s recent albums and performances have attracted a new generation of fans who have come to appreciate the Allman Brothers as the root of much latter-day collegiate jam rock. There was renewed critical respect, as well, especially for Allman’s singing and writing. Allman, who finally won his struggles with heroin and alcohol, has also acted, appearing in the film Rush and the syndicated TV series Superboy.
In 1995 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and released 2nd Set. It received its first Grammy Award (for Best Rock Instrumental Performance) the next year, for “Jessica.” Gregg Allman released his first solo recording in a decade with 1997’s Searching for Simplicity, which opens with a remake of the Allman Brothers’ classic blues “Whipping Post.” Allman’s solo anthology, One More Try, includes only eight previously released songs.
A series of personnel changes, and the occasional intramural ruckus, have kept the band in flux. In 1996, Warren Haynes and Allen Woody left to work full-time with their own project, the blues-rock trio Gov’t Mule. Guitarist Jack Pearson, who cowrote Gregg Allman’s epic “Sailin’ ’Cross the Devil’s Sea,” and bassist Oteil Burbridge (Aquarium Rescue Unit) replaced them. Pearson’s departure in 1999 made way for 20-year-old guitarist Derek Trucks, Butch’s nephew, to join a band he had been sitting in with for years. In June 2000, Betts was ousted via fax from the band on the eve of a summer tour. Soon thereafter, he put together a new eight-piece band, touring as the Dickey Betts Band. Not long after that, Warren Haynes rejoined the Allman Brothers.
Upon inducting the Allman Brothers Band into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Willie Nelson said:
"The Allman Brothers Band took what moved them and merged it into something unique that audiences love: a sound that redefined the direction of rock and roll, and opened the doors to a spirit of experimentation that continues in today's music.
"The Allman Brothers Band were and still are one of the most exciting live bands ever to hit the stage. They became road warriors with a vengeance and left devoted fans wherever they went. The ABB is a band that reflects so many of my sentiments about music: originality, a determination not be confined musically or stylistically but instead to forge your own way and make music that moves you, a devotion to the road, and understanding that beyond pleasing yourself as an artist, the only other consideration should be the people, the fans who come to hear you.
"And so with pleasure, I give you rock and roll's greatest jammin' blues band, the Allman Brothers Band!"
In 2014, the Allman Brothers Band announced they were breaking up, for good this time, after 45 years. After they played their final show, countless fans across the globe played tribute. Gregg Allman has since toured as a solo artist.
Lineups (Past & Present)
1969 - 1976 (Original to First Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Duane Allman - guitar, slide guitar (1969 - 1971; died 1971)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Berry Oakley - bass, vocals (1969-1972; died 1972)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Chuck Leavell - piano, synthesiser, background vocals (1972-1976, 1986)
Lamar Williams - bass, vocals (1972-1976; died 1983)
1978 - 1982 (First Reformation to Second Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Dan Toler - guitar (1978-1982, 1986; died 2013)
David Goldflies - bass (1978-1982)
David 'Frankie' Toler - drums (1980-1982; died 2011)
Mike Lawler - keyboards (1980-1982)
1986 - 1986 (Second Reformation to Third Disbandment)
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Dan Toler - guitar (1978-1982, 1986; died 2013)
Chuck Leavell - piano, synthesiser, background vocals (1972-1976, 1986)
1989 - Present
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Dickey Betts - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-2000)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Warren Haynes - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1989-1997, 2000–present)
Allen Woody - bass, background vocals (1989-1997; died 2000)
Johnny Neel - keyboards, harmonica (1989-1990)
Marc Quiñones - drums, percussion, background vocals (1991–present)
Oteil Burbridge - bass, vocals (1997–present)
Jack Pearson - guitar, vocals (1997-1999)
Derek Trucks - guitar, slide guitar (1999–present)
Jimmy Herring - guitar (2000)
Current members
Gregg Allman - organ, piano, guitar, vocals (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Butch Trucks - drums, tympani (1969-1976, 1978-1982, 1986, 1989-present)
Jai Johanny 'Jaimoe' Johanson - drums, percussion (1969-1976, 1978-1980, 1986, 1989-present)
Warren Haynes - guitar, slide guitar, vocals (1989-1997, 2000–present)
Marc Quiñones - drums, percussion, background vocals (1991–present)
Oteil Burbridge - bass, vocals (1997–present)
Derek Trucks - guitar, slide guitar (1999–present)
Don't Keep Me Wonderin'
The Allman Brothers Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, tell me 'bout the car I saw
Parked outside your door
Tell me what you left me waiting
Two or three hours for
Tell me why when the phone rings, baby
You're up and across the floor?
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer, oh
I think about the bad times
I think about yours and mine
You were lost in the silver spoon
I pulled you out in time
But I hope that you got reasons
For the way that you've been lyin'
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I think I'm gonna go now
But you know that I'll be back
You can think it over, baby
Tell me how you're gonna act
And I'm gonna keep on holding on
But I don't get no stronger
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
Lord, please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I know, and I know, and I know
You've never been in love before, oh, oh, baby
Parked outside your door
Tell me what you left me waiting
Two or three hours for
Tell me why when the phone rings, baby
You're up and across the floor?
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer, oh
I think about the bad times
I think about yours and mine
You were lost in the silver spoon
I pulled you out in time
But I hope that you got reasons
For the way that you've been lyin'
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I think I'm gonna go now
But you know that I'll be back
You can think it over, baby
Tell me how you're gonna act
And I'm gonna keep on holding on
But I don't get no stronger
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
Lord, please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I know, and I know, and I know
You've never been in love before, oh, oh, baby
In "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'" by The Allman Brothers Band, the singer is pleading with someone he had been seeing romantically to explain why they're treating him poorly. He starts off asking about a car he saw parked outside their door, likely belonging to someone they were seeing on the side. Then he asks why the person kept him waiting for two to three hours without explanation. The singer tells the person that he thinks about the bad times they've had together and how they both were lost at some point. He hopes that the person has a reason for lying to him and begs them to tell him what's going on so he can stop wondering and start moving on.
As the song draws to a close, the singer says that he's going to leave for now but will be back again. The person should take this time to think things over and decide how they'll act when the singer returns. Despite everything, the singer will keep on holding on, but he needs answers to stop himself from wondering and hurting any longer. The repetition of the phrase "please don't keep me wonderin' no longer" emphasizes the singer's desperation for clarity and honesty in the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, tell me 'bout the car I saw
I noticed a car parked outside your house, can you tell me whose it is?
Parked outside your door
I saw the car parked directly outside your front entrance.
Tell me what you left me waiting
I have been waiting for you for two or three hours, can you tell me why?
Two or three hours for
I have been kept waiting for you to arrive or finish something for a period of two to three hours.
Tell me why when the phone rings baby
Whenever the phone rings, you immediately jump up and walk across the room. Why?
You're up and across the floor
You quickly get up from where you were sitting and quickly walk across the room to answer the ringing phone.
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I cannot keep being kept in suspense and waiting any longer; I would like an explanation for your actions.
I think about the bad times
I frequently remember the difficult times we had together.
Lord I think about yours and mine
I think about the struggles and hardships that we both had to go through.
You were lost in the silver spoon
You were caught up in an affluent and privileged lifestyle.
Thought I pulled you out in time
I believed that I had helped you escape from that lifestyle in time.
And I hope that you got reasons
I am curious to know the reasons behind your recent actions.
For the way that you've been lyin'
I am referring to your recent dishonesty and deceitful behavior.
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I need clarity and honesty; please don't keep me waiting any longer.
I think I'm gonna go now
I have decided to leave now.
But you know that I'll be back
Regardless of my departure, I will return.
Now you can think it over baby
Use this time that I'm leaving to contemplate your actions.
Tell me how you're gonna act
Reveal how you plan on addressing the situation moving forward.
I'm gonna keep on holding on
I'm going to continue believing you and having faith in our relationship.
But I don't get no stronger
At the same time, my faith in us is not getting any stronger either.
Please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I cannot keep being kept in suspense and waiting any longer.
Oh please don't keep me wonderin' no longer
I am pleading with you not to keep me waiting any longer.
No, no, no no, no no, it's ever been this long before, oh, oh baby
I have never been kept waiting this long before, it's starting to feel unbearable.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Iricom US Ltd, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Gregg L. Allman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@SteveEcksteinDouglasDrive
Summary:
On this date, Bill Graham assembled a stellar roster of bands to participate in the filming of a television special called Welcome To The Fillmore East for broadcast on educational channels. Short sets were filmed by the Byrds, the Elvin Bishop Group, Sha-Na-Na, Van Morrison, and the Allman Brothers Band, as well as behind-the-scenes footage of Bill Graham and the Fillmore East staff at work.
The Allman Brothers performance is nothing short of spectacular and features the original lineup that included Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. Recorded six months prior to the legendary Live At Fillmore East double album set, this performance captures the Allman Brothers when they were a relatively new band, full of youthful passion and performing what would become classic original material when it was fresh and new.
Following Bill Graham's introduction, they kick things off with a tight performance of "Don't Keep Me Wonderin'," which features the band's friend, Tom Doucette, blowing harp over the group's trademark sound. Gregg's vocal is barely audible, but it's obvious the group is full of fire. "Dreams," which follows, slows things down a bit and the group establishes a relaxed groove that showcases their trademark sound, blending elements that would eventually come to define "Southern Rock."
They hit their stride on the next number, Dickey Betts' "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed." Here, the dual guitar attack of Allman and Betts is astounding. The two guitarists intertwine and synchronize in a manner nothing short of telepathic, creating a melting pot seasoned with elements of jazz, rock, country, and blues into a style utterly their own. The set ends with a ferocious take of "Whipping Post" that features outstanding melodic bass playing from Berry Oakley, with both Duane Allman and Dickey Betts soaring over the propulsive rhythm section. Shorter than the expansive versions that would develop in coming months, this is all the more fascinating for it, as they compress an incredible amount of energy into the time allotted.
Time constrictions and vocal microphone malfunctions aside, this is still a fascinating performance. This original lineup of the band was certainly one of the most innovative and captivating bands to ever play the Fillmore.
@nyywc
The greatest band to ever take a stage anywhere, anytime.
@TheGuitarMan71
We are forever in the Allman Brothers’ debt.
@JP4drumsFarrell
Ahh the good ole days. Everyone sitting, digging the great music/musicians, without the sea of cell phones in the air
@ralphboston6258
The Greatest Band Ever Period 👍
@user-cm2qg7li5m
That's the Real Deal!!! Was blessed to see the Allman Brothers 12 times
@tedschmidt3288
Duane was off the charts with his slide playing.
@df5295
The greatest!
@perijetton9275
I still love him and still think he’s the greatest ☮️🍄🍑
@5critters
the best who ever lived.
@TheJQ1971
Frickin genius