With the band: 1980–1982
Instruments: Keyboards, synthesizers
From Nashville to the Allman Brothers Band
Mike Lawler was a Nashville keyboard player and songwriter. He first worked with the Allman Brothers Band as a supporting player during the band’s years on Arista Records, and in late 1980 the band made him a full member. That gave us a second keyboard voice alongside Gregg Allman’s Hammond organ for the first time since Chuck Leavell left.
Brothers of the Road
Mike played piano and synthesizers on Brothers of the Road (1981) and co-wrote two of its songs: “The Heat Is On,” with Dickey Betts and Buddy Yochim, and “Two Rights,” with Dickey and Johnny Cobb. Onstage his synthesizers and keytar reflected the label’s push for a more modern, radio-friendly sound, and that direction divided longtime fans.
Mike appears in the band’s Brothers of the Road concert video, filmed at the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, in December 1981. A few weeks later, in January 1982, the band went on hiatus.
After the Band
After the breakup Mike went back to work in the Nashville music community as a keyboard player, songwriter and session musician.