Allman Brothers – Wasted Words

There is nothing better than sitting back on a cool Fall day and listening to the Allman Brothers.

The album Brothers and Sisters was released in August 1973. This was almost two years after Duane Allman had died. Around a year later on November 11, 1972…their bassist Berry Oakley died on a motorcycle within a few blocks of where Duane crashed. Some of the band members have said…Berry died on the day that Duane died but his body just kept moving until a little over a year later. He never got over Duane dying and his drug and alcohol use escalated. He was on his motorcycle and hit a bus. He went back to his house and they took him to a hospital where he died a short time later.

berry-oakley-tractor-bass-allman-brothers

Let me say this about Berry Oakley. He is sadly overlooked today. Not only was he a superb blues bass player but he had something that not all blues bassists have. He had a great sense of melody…I would compare him to Paul McCartney in that department. In the middle of those jams, you would hear the bass playing these wonderful countermelodies…he was unique in that way.

The Allmans recorded Brother and Sisters between October and December of 1972. It was a monster hit for the Brothers. It contains the last songs that Oakley ever played on. Berry Oakley played on this song and the huge hit Ramblin’ Man that he recorded shortly before his death. They had try-outs for another bass player but Jaimo’s friend Lamar Williams won out easily. He played with the band until they broke up briefly in 1976. He developed lung cancer at the age of 32 from exposure to Agent Orange during his Vietnam service and died in 1983.

Gregg Allman wrote this and Dickey Betts played a slide on the song. He didn’t like playing slide because of Duane. When Duane died instead of replacing him with another guitar player…they recruited the great piano player Chuck Leavell. That was a smart thing to do because of the comparisons to Duane on whoever would have taken that spot. Dickey had to play slide when they played their older songs but it’s something he stayed away from on newer songs when he could.

The album peaked at #1 on the Billboard 100, #1 in Canada, and #42 in the UK. What helped the album was Ramblin’ Man and Jessica, two of their most classic songs. They toured with this album and played sold-out stadiums and arenas. A little later they would lease The Starship… the same one that Led Zeppelin used in the seventies. They were up there with The Who, Led Zeppelin, and the monster bands of the seventies.

The first time I heard of the Allman Brothers was on SNL where Dan Ackroyd played Jimmy Carter talking down a caller on acid. I was around 9 when I heard it and it stuck. I have it below.

Wasted Words

Can you tell me, tell me, friend, just exactly where I’ve been?
Is that so much to ask I’ll pay you back no matter what the task
You seem really sure ’bout something I don’t know,
Take that load off, looks like chest’s about to go
Your wasted words already been heard, are you really god, yes or no?

Well, all day and half the night you’re walkin’ round lookin’ such a fright
Good is it me or is it you?
I’d make a wager and I’d hope you lose
Time’s gone, looks like Rome is ’bout to fall,
Next time take the elevator, please don’t crawl
Your wasted words so absurd, are you really Satan, yes or no?
Tell me now baby?
Ooh hoo
Oh

Well, I ain’t no saint and you sure as hell ain’t no savior
Every other Christmas I would practice good behavior
That was then, this is now, don’t ask me to be mister clean
Baby, I don’t know how
Ring my phone ’bout ten more times, we will see,
Find that broke down line and let it be
Your wasted words will never be heard, go on home baby and watch it on TV

Weekday soap-box specialty, you know what I’m talkin’ ’bout now
By the way, this song’s for you, sincerely, me

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

42 thoughts on “Allman Brothers – Wasted Words”

    1. Yes we did! That was a cool skit.
      Oakley was a great bass player…when I listened to At Fillmore East…I was blown away by his bass playing and how melodic it was…you don’t think of blues bass players as melodic….at least I didnt.

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      2. I would drink to that if I could right now! We are overlooked… and yea I’ve heard all the jokes…what do you call a bass player without a girlfriend? Homeless.
        Bass playing can be interesting.

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      4. LOL.. he beat the odds!
        I will say this…singing and playing bass is hard…it takes a skill to do it…it’s almost like playing lead and singing.

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      10. Yes is really good at it also! What he probably means is he can’t read music…neither can Paul McCartney…I’ll take playing by ear and feel anyday.

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  6. Somehow I just can’t see Jimmy and Walt discussing the merits of Orange Sunshine. But the White House is an increasingly unreal place since Jimmy’s day. If those walls could talk they’d have to condemn the place.

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  7. Never heard this one before, and if you’d told me it was the Rolling Stones from that era, I would have probably believed you…even the vocals are Jagger-ish in places. Excellent guitar work on it.

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  8. Seriously good jam, and that slide is out of this world. Allways up for Allman Brothers info. How horrible first about Duane’s tragic death, only to be followed by what suspiciously sounds like Berry’s suicide 😦

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  9. p.s. Those old SNL days are national treasures. Bill Murray made a perfect Walter Cronkite and Dan was the perfect former POTUS Jimmy Carter. Cracking up now just like I did back then, but back then I was probably high when I watched it so I probably laughed even harder back then 🙂

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  11. Great choice, Max! Another album where there really isn’t a bad track. I didn’t ever get into their earlier stuff, but B&S changed all that. I thought Betts was at his peak, particularly on Pony Boy.

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  12. Great song, Max. I didn’t remember it, even though I’ve listened to that album. And, yes, I just listened to “Wasted Words” with headphone and the bass work by Berry Oakley is pretty neat. That SNL clip is hilarious. I knew President Carter had a close relationship with the Allmans and credited them for their help to become President.

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    1. They did help him a lot raise money and get votes from younger folks.
      Oakley was so melodic…Oh Christian..
      Did you hear about McCartney? Supposedly he got his stolen bass back! The Hofner that was taken during Let It Be…

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      2. That is incredible! The news I read kept saying 1972 for some reason…
        It was stolen as you know when Let It Be was filmed. It is amazing it’s still here…they are more fragile…I’m happy it was taken care of

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