Biography

Born Howard Duane Allman

Date of birth 20 November 1946

Birthplace Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Main Guitar Gibson Les Paul

After the death of his father in 1957, Duane moved with his mother and brother Gregg to Daytona Beach in Florida. Initially, Duane's main love was his Harley Davidson 165 but after one accident too many he traded in the wreckage for a Gibson Les Paul Junior.

Duane began his career at 16 with local bands such as The House Rockers, Allman Joys and Hourglass, with whom he recorded two undistinguished albums with Liberty. After these unsuccessful ventures, Duane became a session musician in the rhythm section of the Muscle Shoals and also worked with producer Jerry Wexler on sessions with Aretha Franklin and Wilson Picketts.

Duane first began to use a slide in his playing after an accident while riding in California with his brother Gregg. The horse had spooked and thrown Duane, who landed heavily on his elbow. He blamed Gregg for this and refused to speak to him for three weeks. Gregg, hurt by this, nevertheless took round a bottle of Coricidin and a copy of a Taj Mahal album on Duane's birthday. After he had left, Duane emptied the bottle of the Coricidin pills, washed off the label and began to play with the bottle as a slide. This was before glass slides were widely available, and it proved to be a pivotal moment in his playing.

Duane's big break came when he was 21 after suggesting to Picketts that he should play a version of The Beatles' classic Hey Jude. Picketts, though reluctant at first, soon warmed to the idea. Duane took the lead after Picketts' vocals faded away and the response from Rick Hall, who was recording the session, was such that he immediately rang Wexler to let him hear the music down the phone. After this, Duane became a full member of the Muscle Shoals. His recording with King Curtis on Games People Play won him a Grammy for Best R&B Instrumental.

Looking to form a group of his own, Duane gathered Jai Jimmy Johnson, Butch Trucks, Berry Oakley, Dicky Betts and his brother Gregg to practice at a house in Jacksonville. As they jammed for hours, Duane knew that he had the band members he wanted. At the end of the session, Duane stood at the door and announced that any man who did not want to join his band would have to fight their way out. Nobody wanted to leave and the Allman Brothers Band was born.

The Allman Brothers Band was signed to Capricorn, the record label owned by the group's manager, Phil Walden. Two studio albums were followed by the live At The Fillmore East in 1971, which is regarded as one of the finest live albums of Duane's career, the very concept of the album being to capture the energy and passion of Duane's playing that could not be accurately reproduced on a studio record. At the end of You Don't Love Me he played alone for over ten minutes. The album sold half a million by the end of the summer and took the band to a new level of fame. It was the second studio album Idlewild South, however, that the band broke through to crack the Billboard charts. The album is generally credited as being the beginning of the 'southern rock' scene that heralded the beginning of bands like Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Meanwhile, Tom Dowd, producer of Idlewild South, got a call from Eric Clapton, whose work with John Mayall's Bluesbreakers and Cream had established him in Duane's eyes as one of the best guitarists in the world. Eric wanted Dowd to produce his next album, and Dowd thought that Duane would like to meet him.

Before Duane entered the scene of Clapton's new band Derek And The Dominoes, they had a distinct lack of focus, blurred by drugs and drink. Clapton's obsession for George Harrison's wife Patti Boyd was the driving force for the album Layla and his heartfelt lyrics were well accented by Duane's passionate guitar playing. The title track had been penned as a simple blues track by Clapton, until Duane picked up his guitar while he and Clapton were practising, and came up with the seven note introduction that has become his most well known guitar section today, even though Clapton is generally the most famous guitarist of the band.

After two years on tour the Allman Brothers Band were forced to go into rehab after heavy cocaine usage messed up their lives to a point where it was becoming impossible to continue. After a long period of rest the band members returned to the studio.

Not long after recording began, Duane went to stay in New York, visiting friend and fellow musician John Hammond. Returning to Macon for his mother's birthday party, he slept in one morning and that afternoon got on his Harley Davidson. Followed by his girlfriend Dixie Candace in her car, Duane was as usual riding fast when he swerved to avoid a truck turning in the middle of the road. He fell off and landed heavily, dying of his injuries on the 29th October 1971. At his funeral the band performed with other great musicians including Doctor John. At the end of the set Dicky Betts placed Duane's Les Paul in front of the casket and walked off.

Duane's final recordings were released on Eat A Peach - Dedicated To A Brother. Although the Allman Brothers Band continues to play today, the void left by Duane has been impossible to fill.

"Rock 'n' roll should move your heart and make you feel good...like a newspaper for people who can't read, it'll tell you where everything's at."-Duane Allman

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