1969: The Allman Brothers Band Capricorn
1970: Idlewild South,Capricorn
1971: At Fillmore East (live),Capricorn (double LP)
1972: Eat A Peach,Capricorn (double LP)
1973: Brothers & Sisters,Capricorn
1975: Win, Lose, Or Draw,Capricorn
1975: The Road Goes On Forever (anthology),Capricorn (double LP)
1976: Wipe The Windows, Check The Oil, Dollar Gas (live),Capricorn (double LP)
1979: Enlightened Rogues,Capricorn
1980: Reach For The Sky,Arista
1981: Brothers Of The Road,Arista
1989: Dreams (anthology),Polygram (4-CD box set)
1990: Ludlow Garage (live),Polygram (2-CD set)
1991: A Decade Of Hits,Polygram (anthology)
1991: Seven Turns,Epic/1990 Shades Of Two Worlds
1992: An Evening With... (live),Epic
1993: Live AT Great Woods (home video),Sony Music Video
1994: Where It All Begins,Epic
1995: 2nd Set (live),Epic
[taken from LSI Productions ]
With their mix of down-home groove and instrumental virtuosity, blues-drenched soul and hard rock, bound together by
an ethos of all-night jamming, the Allman Brothers Band defined a sound some call Southern Rock. The originators of a
sound that continues to this day, they spawned a host of bands who drew on their model -- proving only that the genius of
the ABB could be imitated, but never duplicated.
In 1969, Florida-born guitarist Duane Allman left Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he'd established himself as an
in-demand session player on recordings by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis, and Boz Scaggs, among
others. Seeking to form his own ideal band, Allman recruited bassist Berry Oakley and guitarist Dickey Betts from
Jacksonville, FL psychedelic band The Second Coming; and two drummers, r&b veteran Jaimoe (then known as J.
Johnny Johnson), who had worked with Otis Redding, Joe-Tex and Percy Sledge, and Butch Trucks, from Jacksonville
folk-rock group The 31st Of February. Organist/vocalist Gregg Allman had recorded two albums with brother Duane as
part of the L.A.-based Hourglass, and was developing into one of the finest white blues singers of all time.
The Allman Brothers Band's lasting trademarks were all set in place by the time they released their first self-titled
album in 1969. Driven by the relentless propulsion of Jaimoe and Trucks, Gregg's bluesy Hammond B-3 comping and
Berry's deep, melodic bass lines, Dickey Betts and Duane Allman crafted a singular twin lead guitar approach which
took its cues from both jazz horn players (particularly Miles Davis and John Coltrane) and the twin fiddles of Western
Swing music. Together, they rewrote the rule book on how rock guitarists could play together, and paved the way for
every two- and even three-guitar band that followed in the ABB's wake.
"Most fans had never heard anything quite like the mercurial solos and meticulous counterpoint effortlessly unreeled by
Duane Allman and Dickey Betts," wrote author Joe Nick Patoski in The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll (
1992, Random House). "In many respects, indeed, the Allman Brothers had become one of the most impressive bands in
the country."
On their first four classic recordings -- The Allman Brothers Band, Idlewild South, At The Fillmore East, and Eat A
Peach -- the ABB perfected a sound that effortlessly combined rock, blues, country and jazz on such classic original
tunes as "Dreams," "Blue Sky," "Revival," "Midnight Rider," "Melissa," and "In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed." By 1971,
they were poised for superstardom: Even the tragic deaths of both Duane Allman (on October 29, 1971) and bassist Berry
Oakley (on November 11, 1972) in motorcycle accidents couldn't stop the band's upward trajectory.
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