Allman Brothers Band: Jessica
[purchase]
I confess that right from the start of the “Brothers” theme,
I had this album in mind – with the hopes that I would get around to it and
that maybe no one else would get there before me.
Back in the ‘70s, I attended a college in the South (of the
US, of course) that had hosted the Allman Brothers at about the time of their
rise to fame (Atlanta not being too far from Greensboro, NC). I wish I had been
there then because I had already been listening to their music when I was in
high school (Idlewild South anyone?). I was also already a die-hard Clapton fan,
which has made Derek and the Dominoes an eternal favorite (Duane Allman + Eric
Clapton = made in heaven)
The Allman Brothers’ <Brothers and Sisters> album came out in ’73,
shortly after the death of the band’s lead guitarist Duane Allman. You probably
know that Allman’s death was more or less quickly followed by the death of
bassist Berry Oakley – in curiously similar circumstances. However, Oakley is
credited and played on the Brothers and Sisters album that this clip is taken
from.
Following Duane’s death, Richard “Dickey” Betts assumed the
lead guitar position – less flamboyant than the lost Allman brother, but a
highly competent guitarist in that he was the second guitarist of the band's
original double lead guitar setup.
The photos that make up the album covers are “brothers” and “sisters”
shots of the band members’ kids: I do wonder how much they still feel like siblings all
these many years later. (Those were special years for those of us who were here
back then, so I assume the bonds from this still tie them together somehow).
The clip I located (with the best video that I could locate - and a live version
to boot) is from well beyond the Duane Allman era, but it retains the essence
of the original. You’ll see Dickey Betts on guitar and Greg Allman at the
keyboard.
And so … on to <Sisters> …