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)
Ramblin' Man
The Allman Brothers Band Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Well, my father was a gambler down in Georgia
And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun
And I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus
Rollin' down highway 41
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Alright
I'm on my way to New Orleans this mornin'
Leaving out of Nashville, Tennessee
They're always having a good time down on the bayou
Lord, and Delta women think the world of me
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Well, my father was a gambler down in Georgia
And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun
Rollin' down highway 41
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Alright
I'm on my way to New Orleans this mornin'
Leaving out of Nashville, Tennessee
They're always having a good time down on the bayou
Lord, and Delta women think the world of me
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
And when it's time for leavin'
I hope you'll understand
That I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
The Allman Brothers Band’s “Ramblin’ Man” is about a man who has been traveling around the country for work and to make a living. The singer admits that he was “born a ramblin' man” and has been doing the best he can to make a living. The song is a tribute to the life of an itinerant worker.
The story is told through the eyes of a man who was born while his father was on the run from the law. His father was a troubled gambler who got himself into trouble and was killed. The singer was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus while his mother was fleeing the authorities. From that time on, he has been constantly on the move.
The song is ultimately about being free, wandering the world and doing what one loves best. It’s a celebration of the thrill of traveling, the excitement of new adventures, and the joys of meeting new people. It’s also a tribute to the men and women who have the courage to go after what they want, even if it means leaving their homes and loved ones behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
I was born with a restless spirit and a desire to constantly move and explore.
Tryin' to make a livin' and doin' the best I can
I work hard to support myself, but I prioritize living an adventurous life on the road.
And when it's time for leavin', I hope you'll understand
When I have to leave, I hope those around me will accept my lifestyle and desire to continue wandering.
Well, my father was a gambler down in Georgia
My father was a risk-taker who enjoyed gambling in the southern state of Georgia.
And he wound up on the wrong end of a gun
Unfortunately, his gambling habits led to a potentially deadly situation.
And I was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus
I was born while my mother was traveling on a Greyhound bus, most likely still on the move.
Rollin' down highway 41
The bus was traveling on highway 41 at the time of my birth.
I'm on my way to New Orleans this mornin', Leaving out of Nashville, Tennessee
I am currently traveling to New Orleans from Nashville, starting my day early to cover as much distance as possible.
They're always having a good time down on the bayou
The people of Louisiana's bayou region are known for their fun-loving spirit and celebration of life.
Lord, and Delta women think the world of me
I am well-liked and charming to the women of the Mississippi Delta region.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Once again emphasizing that I was destined to live a life of wandering and adventure.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Repeating the central message of the song, that my wanderlust and love of the road define my life.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
Emphasizing one final time that my restless spirit is above all else who I am and what I embrace.
Lord, I was born a ramblin' man
The refrain of the song, continually underscoring that I was born with a desire to roam.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Forrest Richard Betts
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@mitch5300
I sorta did it
Georiga native, went from there to Alabama
Mississippi (fuck Mississippi)
Tennessee
Arkansas
Oklahoma
Texas
New Mexico
Arizona
Utah
Colorado
Kansas
Illinois
Kentucky
Tennessee again, then home to Georgia
I've never been west past Alabama, so the trip to all these states were so mind opening and breathtaking. I've never really in person seen how beautiful this country was and to see the parks out west, the plains of Oklahoma, desert of texas, the Rockies, and the (mostly) wonderful people in all them made this shitry year just a bit better.
And all was done from end of June to mid July, 2 weeks off from work.
Go and enjoy yourself a trip, sir.
@Eli-zl5wv
Looking back, my dad's dad wasn't very responsible. He would buy me donuts and sugary cereal and let me stay up late. We would ride around in his old Chevy truck and he would roll the windows down to smoke. Hardly even talking, just riding around listening to his CDs, my favorite being this one. My parents stopped letting me see him when they found out. He died of lung cancer a few years ago and I just wish I could ride around 1 more time
@jgylsyearty4512
I feel ya friend. Sometimes that's all we have are the memories. But to have a song to go with them . Priceless. Thanks for sharing my friend.
@stefaniebryant2938
That's truly beautiful and i totally respect and understand how you feel...
@stefaniebryant2938
this isn't my real account just using it temporarily
@stefaniebryant2938
I may not know exactly how that feels but..when i was younger my grandpa would use to pick me up in his old blue ford and he would pick me up from pre-school i think.. and he would always stop at a gas station to get me a propel water and a bag of cheezits... we ended up having to sell that same truck several years later because we need the money... selling that truck took something away from me..
@stefaniebryant2938
and he would always have a certain list of songs he would play "sweet home alabama" "free bird" "wherewolves in london" and "ramblin man"... i made a special album called Papa's special album that hold all of those songs in his honor.. he passed away just last year...
@KentuckyWaterfall13
Give me Allman bro’s, Skynyrd, and CCR and a drink and I’m a happy man.
@lukeswain1752
That's what's up. I'd just add David Allan Coe and Waylon to that 😎
@fidelbeserra9875
Tu é BR, mano? Hahaha tmj escutando boa música
@timeto_rise
Add America to that