A Funeral In Macon

I remember the first time I went to Macon, Georgia.  It was 1997-ish and I was in Warner Robins on Air Force business [some things never change].  There was a long break in the meeting I was attending.  Knowing that Macon was close by, it was finally time for me to make an Allman Brothers pilgrimage.  I had to see two places if nothing else – the Big House on Vineville Avenue, and Rose Hill Cemetery, where original Allman Brothers members Duane Allman and Berry Oakley are buried side by side.  At that time. the Big House was a private residence.  ABB “Tour Mystic” and photographer Kirk West and his wife Kirsten lived there.  If one wanted to see the inside of the house, you had to make an appointment.  The Wests have since moved out and the Big House has become quite a museum for all sorts of ABB artifacts.  I had to settle for just seeing the outside of the place.  I didn’t feel comfortable making an appointment to traipse through someone else’s home, regardless of its social and cultural importance.

Rose Hill Cemetery has been in existence since 1840.  It’s just off downtown Macon, nestled between Riverside Drive and the Ocmulgee River.  A set of railroad tracks runs parallel to the river.  The road that runs around the perimeter of the entire cemetery also runs next to railroad tracks.  On the other side of that narrow road is the final resting place of a lady named Elizabeth Reed Napier.  If that name rings a bell, it’s because that is the place where Dickey Betts wrote his instrumental from the album Idlewild South - In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.  There is a large segment of the cemetery reserved for Confederate Civil War dead.  A lot of them are buried there.  The entire cemetery is situated on a long hill, with long gentle slopes in places and steep climbs in others.  There are one-lane roads that run throughout the place, and one needs to be careful while driving through, lest they slip over the roads’ edges and have their day ruined.

I had no idea where Duane and Berry were buried when I first entered the cemetery.  I parked my rental car on one of those very narrow, single-lane, winding roads and began to explore the place on foot.  About five minutes after I set out on my quest to find Duane and Berry, a gentleman [accompanied by his wife] noticed me and asked in his most pronounced Southern accent “are you looking for the Allman Brothers?”  “Yes. sir, I sure am”.  He pointed over the road I was walking on and down the hill.  “They’re down there.”  The written word doesn’t do justice to his elocution, but suffice to say he sounded more “at home” than me, a transplanted Yankee.  The climb down the hill was a little steep, but there they were – two marble-white graves sitting side by side.  The graves gleamed in the Georgia sunlight as if they were two giant sugar cubes.  I got closer and I noticed things.  Some people left stones, others left flowers, and still others left quarters and guitar picks.  Over the years some miscreant visitors defaced the graves, forcing the Oakley family to take the step of enclosing the graves with brick and iron fencing.  I digress, but just a little.  For Peachheads everywhere, this is Mecca.  We don’t face Macon and pray five times a day, but it is the spiritual home of the band we Peachheads love and cherish.

The Allman Brothers Band has always been about family.  The Big House served as a communal home for the band’s extended family.  Berry & Linda Oakley [and their daughter Brittany (who is on the back cover of Brothers and Sisters)] lived there.  Duane Allman lived there for a time, as did Gregg, who had a brief relationship with Berry’s sister Candace.  Dickey Betts wrote Blue Sky and Ramblin’ Man there.  Like most families, they fought.  The worst fight came in 2000, when Dickey Betts and the band parted ways.  That was a sad parting for us Peachheads [angry and bitter for the participants].  But while Dickey and the band were estranged, it was good to know the children remained friends.  Devon Allman has a picture of him, Duane Betts and one of Roy Orbison’s sons in a Nashville bar from April 2016.  Devon’s comment was “A Betts, an Allman & an Orbison walk into a bar..........”   I mention this because the extended family was at the funeral.  Jaimoe and his family were there, as was percussionist Marc Quinones.  Derek Trucks, his wife Susan Tedeschi and their daughter were there.  Berry Duane Oakley was there.  I remember from way back in 1989 when I saw the reunion tour in Sacramento, and Berry Duane joined the band onstage to play Southbound, but I digress [just a little].  Cher was there with her son with Gregg, Elijah Blue.  Gregg had told Dan Rather in an interview a couple of years ago that he and Cher were much better friends than they were spouses. 

Mama Louise [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

Jaimoe [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

Derek Trucks [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

Chank Middleton [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

Cher [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

The rest of Gregg’s clan was there [his widow Shannon, sons Michael & Devon, and daughters Delilah & Layla in addition to son Elijah Blue], including Duane’s daughter, Galadrielle.  Dickey Betts was there with his son Duane and his manager David Spero.  Mr. Spero graciously allowed me to use some of the photos in this blog.  Mama Louise from the H&H Restaurant was there.  She used to feed the band during the lean early days in Macon [I met her once – she’s a very sweet lady].  She even got a credit on the Fillmore East album [“Mama Louise:  Vittles”].  Otis Redding’s family was reported to be there as well.  Warren Haynes is in Spain on tour with Gov’t Mule, but his wife Stefani was there, as was Rose Lane Leavell, whose husband Chuck was in England fulfilling a prior obligation.  Gregg’s lifelong friend Chank Middleton and his manager Michael Lehmen delivered eulogies at the service.

Former President Jimmy Carter was there.  I’m sure this was the first time that Secret Service agents were ever present for a rock star’s funeral.  The first time Mr. Carter ran for president in the 1970s, the Allman Brothers Band played fundraisers to raise money for his then-fledgling campaign.   The Carter-Allman connection continued as Mr. Carter was on-hand to present Gregg an honorary doctorate in humanities from Macon’s Mercer College.  Mr. Carter had this to say when he learned of Gregg’s passing:

“Rosalynn and I were deeply saddened when we learned that Gregg Allman had passed. Gregg and the Allman Brothers Band were very helpful to me in my 1976 presidential campaign. Gregg Allman was better known than I was at that time.  Gregg Allman was there when I needed him and Rosalynn and I have always been grateful to him.”

The funeral service itself was held at Snow’s Memorial Chapel, the same place where Duane Allman’s funeral took place 46 years ago.  It was a private affair.  At Gregg Allman’s request, there was a “no suit” rule.  Suit jackets were allowed.  The only ties that I saw were worn by personnel from Snow’s, as that is part of the professionalism that comes with their jobs.

Snow's Memorial Chapel [Photo by Marcus Ingram/Getty Images]

The procession ran from the front of Snow’s on Cherry Street.  It ran from Cherry Street to First Street, then on to Riverside Drive.  Fans by the hundreds lined both sides of the street all the way to Rose Hill Cemetery.  Gregg’s final resting place is near those of his brother Duane and Berry Oakley.  According to Michael Lehman, that was in keeping with Gregg’s wishes.  He said that a “Good Samaritan” in Macon had owned 10 plots adjacent to Duane and Berry, and would sell them at to Gregg at the cost she paid.  Gregg and his manager bought all 10 plots.

[Courtesy of Woody Marshall/Macon.com]

Macon TV station WMAZ ran a live video feed, as did radio station Q106.  Oldest son Michael Allman also ran his own live Facebook feed from inside his limo on the way to Rose Hill.  He captured the crowds as they lined the funeral procession from Snow’s Memorial Chapel until he reached Rose Hill.  There was a twenty-minute film clip of the graveside service posted on-line.  It was from this clip that I could identify those who attended.  The clip starts with Gregg’s casket sitting in the shade of a tent.  The cemetery was filled with fans who payed their respects while keeping a respectful distance from the mourners.  The only sound you can hear is the sound of bagpipes.  Then the photographer panned to the left, and you can see the mourner’s getting out of their cars [after having passed by Elizabeth Reed Napier] to make the long, slow trek up the hill to Gregg’s final resting place.  And there he was, wearing an orange t-shirt, blue jeans and a straw cowboy hat – Dickey Betts.  For this Peachhead [and I’m sure all the others] this was a most-welcome sight.  Duane Betts and David Spero were walking beside him.  It was a beautiful, sunny day in Macon.  It looks like it was quite hot.  Dickey, Duane Betts, and David Spero seated themselves in the shade of a nearby tree, but they still felt the need to fan themselves to fight the heat.  The mourners inside the tent fanned themselves as well.

Delilah Allman

Shannon Allman

The Allman Clan & Cher

Duane Betts, Dickey Betts, David Spero [With permission of David Spero]

[R-L] David Spero, Berry Duane Oakley, Dickey Betts, Duane Betts, Susan Tedeschi

[Courtesy of Rj Howson, with permission from David Spero]

[Courtesy of Associated Press]

I was struck by one final sight. After the brief gravesite service the mourner’s filed out of the tent.  There was Gregg’s casket – alone.  But he wasn’t alone – there were scores of quiet, respectful fans to watch over him until he was lowered into the ground.

After the funeral, there was a private party at the Big House.  Berry Duane Oakley and Duane Betts played.  According to someone who posted on the Allman Brothers Band website, Dickey played In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, but I can’t confirm that.  The front gates to the Big House parking lot, which bears the band’s mushroom logo and a phrase from Midnight Rider [“the road goes on forever…”] were closed.  But fans gathered in front of the gates and around the Big House to hear the music.

The Big House [Courtesy of Woody Marshall/Macon.com]

Some final thoughts – As tense as things were between Dickey and Gregg over the last several years, there was a look of sadness on Dickey’s face.  Berry Duane Oakley and Duane Betts are almost carbon copies of their respective fathers’ younger selves.  Devon Allman looks a lot like his uncle Duane.  Within the last year Devon Allman has lost both his mother and father.  I’ve been there – I know it’s tough.  What was Berry Duane thinking about when he saw the grave of the father he never knew?  Derek Trucks lost both his uncle Butch Trucks and Gregg within four months.  It's been a tough year, and it's not even halfway over.

Duane & Dickey Betts, David Spero, Berry Duane Oakley [top]

[Courtesy of Rj Howson, with permission from David Spero]

Duane and Dickey Betts [Courtesy of Rj Howson, with permission from David Spero]

I’ll give Gregg the last word.  From Gregg's memoir, My Cross to Bear:

"When it's all said and done, I'll go to my grave and my brother will greet me saying, 'Nice work, little brother – you did all right.  I must have said this a million times, but if I died today, I've had me a blast. I wouldn't trade [my life] for nobody's, but I don't know if I'd do it again. If somebody offered me a second round, I think I'd have to pass on it."

The Allman Brothers Band at Fillmore East

My Facebook friends and I are having a discussion about live albums and which one is better.  Some excellent albums have come into the conversation.  Little Feat’s Waiting for Columbus [a most worthy live document] is part of the discussion.  The Three Pickers [featuring Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, and Ricky Skaggs] has been mentioned.  I haven’t heard it, but I will someday.  Live bluegrass music is always a treat, and I expect nothing less from this release.    Peter Gabriel’s Secret World Live was thrown into the mix, as were the Grateful Dead’s Europe ’72, the Rolling Stones’ Get Yer Ya-Ya’s Out and Eric Clapton’s Unplugged.  Right now is that time of year when the Allman Brothers Band are playing their annual March Madness run at the Beacon Theatre in New York.  Many years ago in March 1971, when Duane Allman and Berry Oakley still walked this earth, the original Allman Brothers Band cut what I consider the finest live album ever made - The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East.

For the record, the name of the album is The Allman Brothers Band At Fillmore East. There is no “Live” anywhere in the title.  At Fillmore East is my favorite Allman Brothers album, bar none. Gram Parsons often talked about combing different kinds of music into a hybrid, what he called “Cosmic American Music.”  One needs to look no further than At Fillmore East for a prime example of Cosmic American Music.  The Allman Brothers Band combined elements of blues, jazz, soul, country and rock and made something unique.  Producer Tom Dowd describes At Fillmore East as a big-band jazz record, and he’s not very far off the mark. This whole record is an exercise in improvisation that never fails to astound. After the first two studio discs, Duane wanted to cut the third album live. The stage was the Allman Brothers’ natural environment. According to Tom Dowd:

“Most rock bands are formula bands. The Allman Brothers would play an eight-, a twelve-, a twenty- or thirty-bar formula and then it’s like jazz, complete free form and everybody goes for himself. And they have enough empathy and enough musicianship among them that Jaimoe could be playing in 5/4, Butch could be playing in 6/8, and Dickey could be playing 4/4, and they all go in different directions and it would swing. And when they get through this solo and that solo and this section, they’d nod and BOOM they’re back to square one. They’d all go back to their parts right away in line again. It’s magnificent!”

They didn’t like recording studios – these guys were all hardened road cases. They all lived for the stage. Almost all live albums from other acts/bands are recordings of songs that have already been released in studio form. Never ones to do things the conventional way, the Allman Brothers cut five songs that their audience who had never been to their shows had heard before. The set starts out with that most iconic song of the Allman Brothers canon, Statesboro Blues. For Allman Brothers fans everywhere, every note, every nuance of Duane’s slide playing is seared into their memory [and mine]. Dickey’s solo is no slouch either. Next was another “new” song, an old Elmore James song called Done Somebody Wrong. More slide virtuosity from Duane, then the old T-Bone Walker song Stormy Monday. Instead of giving the instrumentalists a chance to show off their chops, this song is Gregg’s to show off why he’s the finest white blues singer in America [perhaps anywhere, but then again I’m biased].

With the blues out of the way on Side 1, the real fun begins. Side 2 has one song – the 19-minute You Don’t Love Me. Everybody gets their licks in here. Side 3 begins with a short, 5-minute instrumental to which all band members contributed – Hot ‘Lanta. Then comes my favorite version of In Memory of Elizabeth Reed. When Rolling Stone reviewed Idlewild South, they said Elizabeth Reed was "the blueprint of a concert warhorse, capturing the Allmans at their most adventurous." As good as the studio version of Elizabeth Reed is, this live version is simply exhilarating.  On At Fillmore East, Elizabeth Reed becomes otherworldly at just over 13 minutes. Noted critic Robert Palmer wrote of the Allman Brothers “that if the musicians hadn't quite scaled Coltrane-like heights, they had come as close as any rock band was likely to get.” Duane was listening to a lot of John Coltrane and Miles Davis at the time. His solo in the second half of the song is incendiary. It is proof that not only was Duane a fine slide guitar player, he was also pretty damn good at playing without a slide as well.

Side 4 is also one song – Whipping Post. The original studio version is about 5 1/2 minutes long. This version is 23! Duane introduced the song – “Berry starts her off” – then a fan yells out “Whipping Post.” Duane responds “you guessed it,” and off they go…The verses, choruses, and solos go into 6/4 time, then the interludes after the vocal part go back to 11/4. Dickey Betts in particular gets to shine. Whereas Duane got the more memorable solos on Dreams and Elizabeth Reed, Dickey steps out on this version of Whipping Post. You can even hear the beginnings of Dickey’s instrumental Les Brers in A Minor. After Dickey gets through shredding, the band goes almost dead silent except for Duane’s guitar. After the apocalyptic climax you can hear Butch Trucks play the tympani to introduce the next monolithic jam, Mountain Jam. But that’s all you hear. Then the record fades…

The Allman Brothers recorded more than those 7 songs during their four shows at the Fillmore East. They also recorded One Way Out, Trouble No More [both of which were included on Eat a Peach], Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ [included on the 1972 Duane Allman Anthology], Mountain Jam [also on Eat a Peach], and Drunken Hearted Boy with Elvin Bishop [which finally surfaced on the 1989 Dreams box set]. A few years ago Polygram released a “deluxe” version of At Fillmore East that includes both the original set and the songs I just listed here. Here’s the running order from the Deluxe Edition:

Statesboro Blues / Trouble No More / Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ / Done Somebody Wrong / Stormy Monday / One Way Out* / In Memory of Elizabeth Reed / You Don’t Love Me / Midnight Rider*

Hot ‘Lanta / Whipping Post / Mountain Jam / Drunken Hearted Boy

The extra songs Trouble No More, Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ and One Way Out are master classes from Duane Allman in bottleneck guitar playing.   On Don’t Keep Me Wonderin’ [complete with some on-stage feedback], Duane is just off the scale.  Dickey Betts shows that he is no slouch either, especially on One Way Out. Dickey Betts steps out and plays the lead parts, including the amazing first solo. You can tell the difference between Dickey and Duane – Duane plays the slide. There is a fuck-up on it as well, courtesy of Berry Oakley. He came out of the drum break one beat too early, but Butch Trucks played an extra beat to make up for it and quickly got everyone back on the same page. I love it when mistakes are left in…it makes the musicians seem more human. Whipping Post segues directly into Mountain Jam, so there is no fade at the end of Whipping Post as was on the original release.  On Eat a Peach, Mountain Jam served more as an epitaph for Duane Allman, but restored here in its proper context, one can enjoy the performance more rather than having to think about this being one of the last things we’d ever hear from Duane Allman.  The Deluxe Edition has a running time of 133 min, 59 seconds.  Ticket prices back in 1971 were in the single digits, so those who saw these shows definitely got their money’s worth and a whole lot more.

At this point in the Allman Brothers history, their setlists didn’t vary too much from day to day, so what is presented in the Deluxe Edition is a good representation of an Allman Brothers show.  They front loaded their sets with the blues, then came the fun and games with the long songs and improvisation.  The band played One Way Out during the March 1971 shows, but Tom Dowd thought the version they played on June 27, 1971 was definitive, hence the decision to wait until Eat a Peach to release it.  The version of Midnight Rider presented here was also recorded in June 1971 – I don’t know if they played it in March.

In 1992 Polygram release The Fillmore Concerts.  The band played four sets March 12 and 13, 1971 [The first show – 8pm.  The second show – 11:30pm.  There were no labor union curfews in those days.].  The first set they played on March 12^th they included horn players, which drove Tom Dowd nuts because he hadn’t planned to record horns.  Thom Doucette played the harp on some of the songs – that was planned, but the extra horns weren’t.  He thought the tapes from that first show were “unusable,” but one song [Hot ‘Lanta] that included sax player Rudolph “Juicy” Carter found its way onto The Fillmore Concerts.  It sounds pretty good.  Duane’s solo is a bit more manic than what came out on the original release, so I wonder if the remainder of that particular show was really “unusable.”  Anyway, the band ditched the horns for the remaining three shows, and what was released was compiled from those three shows.  Stormy Monday had been edited to a shorter length for the original release.  On The Fillmore Concerts, Thom Doucette’s harmonica solo is restored.

The cover of At Fillmore East has its own story.  The shots were actually taken in Macon, Georgia by Jim Marshall.  The cover used for The Fillmore Concerts shows the band unsmiling, like they’re bored.  Then Duane saw a drug dealer friend of his, ran over to him, bought some cocaine, and rushed back to get into the picture for the next shot.    Duane [complete with shit eating grin] is sitting there with something [his drugs] cupped in his hands in his lap, while the rest of the bands is cracking up laughing.  That was the shot that made the cover.  On the back of the album the roadies are pictured as well.  To the band, the roadies were just as important as the band, hence their presence on the back cover.  Their road manager Twiggs Lyndon has his picture on the wall because he couldn’t be there for the shoot - he was in jail for killing someone who refused to pay the band after a show in Buffalo in 1970.

At Fillmore East certified gold on October 15, 1971.  It was the Allman Brothers’ first gold record.  Duane Allman was dead two weeks later.  It was like Moses went to the mountain top to see the Promised Land, but he couldn’t go there.  After thousands of miles of roadwork, and after playing an almost non-stop grind of 200+ shows a year for three years, Duane Allman at last got a small taste of the fruits of his labors.  Duane saw the success, but he didn’t live to enjoy it.

If you are going to own one and only one Allman Brothers Band album, the deluxe version of At Fillmore East is the one to have.  A Desert Island disc for me!