The legendary GREGG ALLMAN of the ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND died on Saturday at the age of 69.
His manager said he died of complications from liver cancer, but he’s been having various health problems over the past few years. He had a liver transplant in 2010, but apparently, the cancer came back five years ago.
He canceled tour dates last year because he was “under his doctor’s care” due to, quote, “serious health issues.” Then in March, he canceled the rest his tour.
A statement on his website says, quote, “[He] considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul. Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.”
Gregg and his brother, guitarist DUANE ALLMAN, founded the Allman Brothers Band in 1969 . . . but Duane was killed two years later in a motorcycle accident.
The Allman Brothers Band broke up several times over the years and had a revolving door of members . . . although the lineups almost always featured Gregg, guitarist Dickey Betts, and drummers Butch Trucks and ‘Jaimoe’ Johanson. Butch committed suicide last year. He was also 69.
The Allman Brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Gregg last performed last October. His manager says he did finish his final album, which will be released in September.
Gregg admitted in his memoir that he spent years, quote, “overindulging in women, drugs, and alcohol before getting sober in the mid-’90s.
Allman was married multiple times, including a short-lived marriage to Cher. They released an album under the name Allman and Woman in 1977 . . . although it was NOT well-received.
Yesterday, Cher Tweeted a ‘broken heart’ emoji and said, quote, “I’ve tried . . . words are impossible . . .”
And even though Gregg and Dickey Betts didn’t always get along, Dickey says they’d made up. Quote, “It’s too soon to properly process this. I’m so glad I was able to have a couple good talks with him before he passed. In fact, I was about to call him to check and see how he was when I got the call. It’s a very sad thing.”
