Brothers At Arms – Duane and Gregg Allman

We all know the great album Brothers in Arms from Dire Straits, but sometimes those brothers are “at arms” rather than in them. In this part of the mini-series with Max (Thats Me!) from PowerPop he talks about Duane and Gregg Allman from The  Allman Brothers… Randy from https://mostlymusiccovers.com posted this a few months back right here.

Rare Live Footage of “Statesboro Blues” (1970)

Duane (born November 20, 1946) and Gregg (born December 8, 1947) Allman were born in Nashville, Tennessee, and grew up with a loving but tough mother. Their father, Willis Turner Allman, was murdered in 1949 when Duane was 3 and Gregg was 2. They were raised by their strong mom Geraldine Robbins Allman. Geraldine never remarried because she was scared that a new husband might not treat the boys well. They lived in Nashville for a while but then moved to Daytona Beach and grew up there. Geraldine would soon go to a school to get her accounting degree and send the boys to Castle Heights Military Academy on two separate occasions in Lebanon, Tennessee.

The brothers were almost completely different except in music. Duane lived life on the very edge. Always doing things excessively, be it riding a motorbike, drugs, cars, or playing guitar. Gregg was much more conservative, thoughtful, and worried about the future. Gregg saved up his money from a paper route to buy a Silvertone acoustic guitar early on. He had $21, but the man at the store also wanted tax, so Gregg’s mom kicked in 95 cents.

In 1960, Duane had a small Harley Davidson and wrecked it. He quit school early and continued his partying ways. After a while, he started to get jealous of Gregg’s ability on guitar. Pretty soon they would be fighting over the guitar and the mom soon got Duane a guitar after he sold what was left of the Harley. Gregg showed Duane chords and Duane soon passed Gregg in ability. One, he had a natural gift, and two he had more time through the day. Soon Gregg and Duane started a band called The Allman Joys.

More Rare Live Footage “Whipping Post” (1970)

They developed a following as they started to tour in Florida after Gregg graduated from High School in 1965. Gregg had thoughts of being a dentist if it didn’t work out in music. Duane kept Gregg’s enthusiasm up through the rough times and kept him focused on his keyboard playing, songwriting, and vocals. They soon moved to California to start the band Hourglass and were signed. After two years Duane quit and moved back to the south. After Duane formed the band that would become The Allman Brothers…he called Gregg to come back home to sing. The brothers had a good relationship but were not above fights here and there. Gregg said that he was always Duane’s little brother and would listen to Duane like a second dad. Duane was killed on October 29, 1971, on a motorcycle. Gregg never got over it and it accelerated his drug use. He died on May 27, 2017, at age 69.

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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.

29 thoughts on “Brothers At Arms – Duane and Gregg Allman”

  2. It took me a while to notice and fully embrace the Allmans. Now I consider them one of my favorite bands.

    I didn’t realize Duane and Gregg were only a year apart. For some reason, I thought Duane the difference was bit bigger.

    Based on what I read, yes, Duane would occasionally beat up Gregg. While, as such, they were brothers at arms, I still feel it’s different from many other notorious conflicts between brothers. My understanding is they did love each other. Perhaps that’s a romanticized misperception.

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    1. Duane actually hung Gregg when they were like 5 and 6…the mom came by and saw Gregg skirming with a rope on his neck…something that Duane saw on TV lol.
      Oh they did love each other…that is what the band said and Gregg.

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  4. Always good to have a fallback position. We had an attorney once, who came to me to say he was offered a contract to play music in another state. He asked my advice but also said he knew he could always be an attorney but this might be his one chance to be a professional musician. I advised him to go for it. The business had to find a new attorney. I didn’t hear from him for many years but eventually learned he had become a wealthy and famous personal injury lawyer. Music didn’t work out so well.

    Sounds like the Allmans were more often brothers IN arms than AT arms…not to mention an embarrassment of riches in guitarists with Duane and Dickey Betts.

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    1. You told him the right advice…because yes you can always go back to college or back to practice…I took the chance as well but not as seriously as I should have….I had IT has a backup later on thank goodness.

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      1. They sure did! Wanting to keep them safe vs herself potentially happy with another husband. Aww!
        I knew they lived in Daytona Beach for a time because one or both had been in my ex-husband’s house partying. His mom had won Ms. Daytona 500 at one point and several celebrities had gone to their house to party. Of course that was way before my time there, but I saw some pictures and heard the stories from some of the exe’s friends. I always tried to imagine what that time was like for him.

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      2. Oh COOL!!!! Great back ground! Their mother got a degree while raising them and she had to send them to military school in Nashville because of that…but that didn’t last too long lol.

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  8. Max, I had no idea the two brothers were so close in age! Or that they lost their dad so young. Or that their mom never remarried. Or that they were born in Nashville! Little by little, I learn a lot over time from reading yours and others’ music blogs. It’s been a journey of joy and sorrow.

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    1. Gregg Allman’s bio is worth it…it feels like he is talking to you on a back porch. Losing their dad like that was awful for them but their mom was very strong.

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