'Rollin’ down Highway 41' isn’t just a lyric from "Ramblin’ Man" – it’s a nod to one of the places where Dickey Betts was raised and Gregg Allman resided for a while – and it’s also the place I’ve called home for more than 30 years.
So, my interest in the Allman Brothers Band is more than just a passing whim. I lived among musical giants – though they were unaware of my existence – and missed a chance to see them rehearse here in Bradenton for their 1990 tour because I had to work. Still, it always puts a smile on my face when I see a publicity photo from that period and recognize the background. It was my dream to bump into one of them in a bar – it was not unheard of - but all I’ve got are the stories from people who grew up with Betts, my husband’s memory of being at the rehearsal, seeing Gregg driving down Gulf Drive (on the island ravished by Hurricane Milton) and at a Bradenton bar, and a video that features a local pool hall called Councils.
Always a bridesmaid . . . until I picked up Brothers and Sisters: The Allman Brothers Band and The Inside Story of the Album That Defined The ‘70s. And now I know my former neighbors and their backstory (I was only 10 when Brothers and Sisters was released) in gratifying detail.
As a native Miamian, I was raised on Southern rock because that was all there was on the radio. Skynyrd was huge when I was in high school, followed closely by Molly Hatchet and Marshall Tucker. I was a budding hippie, so that wasn’t really my thing, but in later years, I’ve learned to appreciate that homegrown sound, especially from the Brothers. While I knew most of their catalogue, it wasn’t until recently that I began to appreciate and respect their talent. You know, when you’re young, while at least when I was young, I didn’t listen to music the way that I do now. I wanted something to sing, to lift my spirits, when I was 16 years old. Now, I want to “hear” the music, not just the lyrics. A few weeks ago, my husband played “Blue Sky” and while I am sure I knew that song before that day, I fell in love with it. It sparked a conversation about the uniqueness of the Brothers and how it can’t be replicated. And it led me to this book, written by Alan Paul, who pored over countless hours of audio tapes to turn out a page-turner.
Starting with the inception of the band and the tragic deaths of Duane and Berry Oakley, the book delves into that post-traumatic world with honest conversations from the remaining members of the band. (Jaimoe is the last original man standing since Betts passed earlier this year.) The creative process and the composition of the band changed, but it remained a force to be reckoned with. They managed to keep a great thing going, despite their pain and for a few years, they stayed on top of the world. Which is nothing short of miraculous given their drug and alcohol abuse, a shitty manager who wore way too many hats, including owner of their record company, Allman’s marriage to Cher, and Betts’ temper. Somehow, that never got in the way enough to derail them. At least not initially.
They put Macon, Georgia, and blues rock on everyone’s radar, and jammed with the Grateful Dead at a mini-Woodstock in Watkins Glen, New York, which was supposedly attended by 1 in 3 teenagers in the area. Cameron Crowe, at that time a child prodigy journalist for Rolling Stone, traveled with them and almost famously got Gregg to open up to him in what would later morph into his film Almost Famous. Heck, they even got Jimmy Carter elected president!
Things fell apart when the feds came after some local drug dealers in Macon and Greg was forced to testify. They regrouped in the early 80s, fell apart again, and then reformed just in time for me to miss that famous practice session at an old Scotty’s Hardware in Bradenton.
I’d like to think I could have been one of their Sisters. After all, I lived (and live) in the same area as Gregg and Dickey, I got a man from Georgia, I love their music and have mad respect for their talent, and I ramble down Highway 41 quite frequently. An old lady can dream, can’t she?
