What do you remember of Friday, Oct. 29, 1971?

I don't remember anything of that particular day. Since I wasn't following the news (radio or TV), all my input was delayed a day or so.

Saturday was a typical St. Paul late-October day--cold, cloudy, drizzly. I bussed in to work after waiting in the alcove of an abandoned store. It was a fine lead-in for what I was about to hear. My buddy, Steve Rodgers (meatcutter at the grocery store where I worked, and whom I'd run into at the 3/25/71 St. Catherine's show) hollered across the meat counter something like, "Hey, did you hear Duane Allman died yesterday?".

He wouldn't pull a gag this ornery, but OTOH, Jimi, Janis, and Jim had all died within approximately the last year. Maybe it was only a rumor he'd heard.

I felt pretty down the whole day. What if....?

The Sunday paper confirmed it with a three-or-four-line piece.

It was shortly after this, I think, that RS ran their combination "Bandleader Duane Allman Dies" and "Southern Redneck Band" issue. They were rarely known for good timing or taste. Grrrr.

I hate when this happens.

Billastro

I have very vivid memories of that day.

On October 29, 1971 I had travelled from Philly to Boston with my girlfiriend and another girl to visit a buddy who was attending Boston College. We were staying for the weekend.
On Friday afternoon we limped up to Boston in my 1965 VW Mirco Bus (probably averaged about 45 MPH...no heat...a real piece of snit). Anyway we arrived in one piece and spent Friday evening partying in my buddies dorm room. We went out for a while to a few bars and saw some of the sights in Boston. I had just starting going out with the girl (Cathy) that came with me and I was a bit concerned about the sleeping arrangements...if you know what I mean. The other girl that was with us (Nancy) was the girlfriend of my buddy at Boston College, so I knew that they'd be in the same bed.

By about 2:00 AM we are kinda ready to crash and thankfully we all just flopped into the available bunk beds. Cathy and I together (just went to sleep...honest) and Nancy and Tommy in the top bunk (sleeping only...no gymnastics)....

I woke up early Saturday morning feeling very relieved that the night had passed with no awkwardness. As I came to, the radio was on in the room and the first thing I heard was that Duane Allman had been killed on a motorcycle the evening before. I jumped up and tried to make sure that I had heard the report right. A few minutes later there was another report that confirmed the sad news and they were playing ABB tunes on the station.

The rest of the weekend was a mix of sadness and happiness. I was very upset about Duane and very happy that I had found the girl that I wanted to spend my life with. The tremendous loss of Duane really didn't set-in for a long time (and maybe still hasn't set in completely) because I still get to hear him play on a regular basis.

I had seen Duane in person on February 5th 1971 at the Philly Spectrum and this was the only time I ever did get to see him live. Just inspiring.

After all these years I still think about that weekend and it seems like yesterday sometimes and other times it seems like a million years ago. Cathy and I got married in '74 and we're still together and in love and have a couple of great kids and a very happy life overall. It all goes by in flash.....God Bless you Skydog....and thanks so much.

Chris Kane

Went out that Friday night...was a senior in high school...didnt find out till the next morning...couldnt believe it still cant. Skydog was so amazing...he left us in one sense....but he's not really gone...his music is a constant in my life...getting me thru the bad times and enjoying the good. I feel very fortunate to have seen him play...

I was in High school and already a big ABB fan. But even though we all know all about the band the gear and so on the truth was we were not up to date on the day to day things that happened. Duane's passing was a small note in the local papers if even printed and being high school you never read the paper unless it was to comics. So, I did not hear about his death for at least a month or two when I said to a guy I was taking guitar lessons fron that I could not wait to see when the ABB would release a new album after the FE. He told me Duane died and. I was disappointed byt truthly I did not sulk around. I was HS and was only worried about the nex party or football game or in the words of Duane 'lookin to do the dirty huntch.'
I think as peole get older they reflect more on things that have happened in thier life so that is why the Duane death seems so important as we age. Duane is already dead and we get closer to joining him every day and is scary.

I have no memories, alas. I was but a wee lad when Duane passed, and wouldn't discover his magic until I was in my teens. However, I wanted to pay tribute to the man who, in my opinion, created the most beautiful and most inspiring guitar playing I've ever heard.

God Bless, you, Brother Duane. I'm sure you have peace, and I'm sure you're not resting. Wail on, Sky Dog.

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It was shortly after this, I think, that RS ran their combination "Bandleader Duane Allman Dies" and "Southern Redneck Band" issue. They were rarely known for good timing or taste. Grrrr.

I hate when this happens.

Billastro

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What do you remember of Friday, Oct. 29, 1971

I remember it well.. it was a beautiful Fall day up here in RI…blue sky... warm in the low 70’s and the tree’s were all colors …earlier in the day, a friend of mine Kevin had just got a new VW.. it was a new model, green ,sleek and fast…and we took a ride down the beach….
On the way back, around 9 or so, we stopped at a liquor store for a few bottles of Matuse wine…and as we got back on the highway…I fiddled with the radio and found a FM station on Cape Cod and it was playing all ‘Allman Brothers’ and we were ecstatic,,song after song, then it ended and the DJ came on and softly said’ Well ,it appears to be true, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in Macon, earlier today……..’ and me and my friend looked at each other and started to cry…tears running down our faces..
… the guy I met behind the Boston Tea Party in 69, shared some wine, a few smokes and talked music with, who over a short time, had become a good friend and a Big Brother ,was gone…….
And as we continued to drive down the road...I looked up at the sky with the stars, all shinning bright and through my tears, I saw a falling star shoot across the sky and cried some more……

And every time since, when I look up in the night sky and see a shooting star, I think of Brother Duane ,but now I smile ………

In the pre internet days,news didn't travel that fast.Billastro mentioned the RS Nov.1971 issue,well that's how I got the news.Still have my copy as a matter of fact,a little worse for wear after 34 years.Was working in a store that sold clothing, records etc. and we carried RS which sold pretty well in those days. Went in to work on a gloomy Nov.Monday morning and unpacked the shipment of magazines and promptly found a counter to lean on and opened it up.Band leader Duane Allman dies in bike crash was indeed the headline and we did shed a tear that day.My best freind John was working at the same store and we had recently taken to listening to LAFE incessantly and it was somber day for us .

That particular issue of RS also ran the story written by Grover Lewis which portayed them as mostly coke snortin **** kickers and my understanding is the band hated it.Poor timing of RS to run the story in any case.Also notable in that issue was Part 2 of Fear & Loathing in Las Vegas

I remember reading the Rolling Stone article about his funeral. I was 12. It always pissed my off I was too young to have a chance to see him play.

I was in the military at the time, had just made it home for the weekend when I heard the news. It came over the radio in my buddy's car, and I remember just going numb. That spring and summer Duane's playing opened up a whole new appreciation of music that I'd never had before. It made me want to play the guitar, not to play his licks but to try and express myself through the instrument. 34 years later, I'm still trying. Duane truly had a gift, I'm glad he got to share it with us.