In Classic Rock's 100 greatest albums, Layla is number 64. Comments by Bobby Whitlock play down Duane's importance to the album. Quote Layla would have been a better song without Duane, as the two slide parts on the coda were out of tune. And the seven note opening was already in place before Duane showed up. I think time and drugs have clouded the mans memory. The Layla album would not have reached the heights and importance that it has without Duane, even by Eric's and Tom Dowd's admit that. 
LOL, Tom Dowd & Eric Clapton didn't/don't share the same opinion.
Dicklock is a tool and bitter about the respect both Tom Dowd and Eric's collaborator, Duane Allman have received for their work on the album. Just Google his name and you'll find tons of articles that degrade both Dowd and Duane.
He's spent a life time mired in jealousy.
Maybe we can get him on the blog to do another Q & A.
Old news. Let's cut Bobby some slack. If you read his book you know he made some horrible decisions and that has to affect your view of things. Plus its absolutely fair to say as singer and writer he was indispensable on that record. Yet of the Dominoes we remember Carl Radle- in part because he played with EC thru the 70's, we remember Jim Gordon-because he was the best drummer around AND he killed his mother with a hammer.
He has to be asking what if every day. What if we finished the second album? What if I hadn't pissed of all those people?
He's still a dick but you're right, lets all cut him some slack. We owe it to him.
LOL, Tom Dowd & Eric Clapton didn't/don't share the same opinion.
Dicklock is a tool and bitter about the respect both Tom Dowd and Eric's collaborator, Duane Allman have received for their work on the album. Just Google his name and you'll find tons of articles that degrade both Dowd and Duane.
He's spent a life time mired in jealousy.
Maybe we can get him on the blog to do another Q & A.
When I first joined Facebook around 2009, Bobby Whitlock at that time had 2 Facebook accounts and was at the time writing his memoirs. He was posting excerpts (some that were actually published in his book, some that were not), but he regularly wrote and posted both tentative excerpts and his comments denigrating and downplaying Duane Allman's artistic merits and contributions to the album which bothered the hell out of me. Yes I am a huge fan of Duane's but even if you are not, I don't think there is a music critic or music historian that has not praised to the pantheon, Duane's incredible contributions, not only of Duane's own talents, but how Duane's artistic kinship and camaraderie with Clapton also pushed EC to perhaps Clapton's greatest height of brilliance.
I remember most vividly that one of Bobby Whitlock's tentative book excerpts denigrating Duane on Whitlock's Facebook, elicited hundreds of angry comments from BW's fans telling him to his face that he was jealous, spiteful, and an idiot and worse...but I also remember Whitlock's response. When he saw the firestorm of angry comments he received, he then "responded" with a new post saying something to the extent of "As you know I'm writing my memoirs, and I wanted to test all of you and see how much you love and admire Duane Allman. "I" don't really feel this way, I said those things as a test to all of you which you have passed and the "excerpt" was not real it was a test".
After that I DELETED both of Whitlock's Facebook accounts. IDIOT, and his no talent wife with a fake stage name CoCoCarmel is just as bad and I deleted her Facebook account from mine as well.
By the way, it's not just Duane he has done this to. He also regulalry went off on other artists, and he even denigrated and ranted about Austin, Texas where he was living at the time, and Whitlock and Carmel were regularly playing the nightclubs in Austin, the Saxon nightclub if I remember correctly at the time, and Whitlock was denigrating the wonderful artistic incubator that Austin is. I guess Austin did not benefit Whitlock's career like he hoped so he denigrated it as well.
Then he posted some humpfy, huffy ranting post about how he and Carmel had had enough of Austin and were packing their bags and moving away and literally said something like FU Austin! Then about 2 weeks later Whitlock bragged about how he and Carmel (who BTW had a duo album out at the time called "Lovers", ugh!) had been booked in an artist residency at an Austin nightclub (I think it was either the Saxon or Continental), and he never even mentioned his previous angry rant posts about Austin which he had deleted.
I actually love BW as a songwriter, pianist (he's done much session work with other artists) and I agree that he probably gets the least respect or acknowledgement for his artistic merits & contributions to the Layla album, but he does not have to insult, denigrate, and downplay Duane, Dowd, or the other artists on the album to make himself feel better, or puff himself up, or out of spite and anger. It only makes him appear as the tool he is plus like I said he does this all the time, even picking a bone with Austin, Texas. UGH!
[Edited on 9/26/2017 by ArleneWeiss]
He showed everybody who he is a long time ago, so there's not much sense getting worked up over anything he says.
When the last thread popped up I wondered if he's bitter because he thought Layla was going to make him a star and it didn't. Whitlock played and co-wrote a bunch of the songs, but he very much wound up in the backseat. Clapton was the biggest name, he sang almost everything, and came up with the big ideas for the album. Then Duane came in and also wound up outshining Whitlock, whose accounts of Duane's contributions or the making of the album are not backed up by anybody who was there or any rock historian. Anyway Layla flopped at first, Derek and the Dominos broke up almost immediately, and he couldn't get anything going on his own and then was out of music for 20 years.
These days he seems to spend his time cutting new versions of Layla songs the way he thinks they should've been made, which I don't think a lot of people want to hear, and complaining about everybody else involved with basically the only project anybody knows him from in the first place. He's the only Domino left and Clapton seems to have lost his number. There's a sad story in there, but it's his choice to trash everybody this way, particularly people who can't argue with him, and it's not winning him any more fans.
If all of the above, then why the heck is Devon Allman having him be a part of the concert in December??
If all of the above, then why the heck is Devon Allman having him be a part of the concert in December??
For one thing, I have a feeling his schedule was clear....
Duane Allman was one of the most influential musicians and cultural figures of the 20th century. Much like Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington, he was a, if not THE, principal architect of a genre of American popular music which endures and maintains relevance today, and shows no signs of ever fading from the American fabric. All of this accomplished before he was 25 years old. There is nothing that anyone can do to disparage or demean that.
Duane Allman was one of the most influential musicians and cultural figures of the 20th century. Much like Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Hank Williams and Duke Ellington, he was a, if not THE, principal architect of a genre of American popular music which endures and maintains relevance today, and shows no signs of ever fading from the American fabric. All of this accomplished before he was 25 years old. There is nothing that anyone can do to disparage or demean that.
Very well put! I always thought Bobby had incredible talent. Too bad his ego won't allow him to appreciate the talents of others that have helped him on his journey.
[Edited on 9/26/2017 by KCJimmy]
Poor Bobby, he's getting ga bit dillusional. Don't be touching Duanes legacy you fool. The Layla album would be mediocre at best with out Duane, Duane lit the joint up with his energy.
