Geraldo Rivera on his Good Night America program hosts Gregg Allman of the Allman Brothers band. This clip starts with music and continues into the interview, where we hear Gregg's perspective on what it's like going from sweet 16 parties to playing open air stadiums with 100,000 people, in a short period of time. The pressures of the music industry, the rock 'n roll industry specifically, sure "have their ups and downs." Towards the end of the clip we hear a solo piano piece by Gregg.
I remember seeing that live or perhaps when it aired the first time on TV if not live. Remember the white suite.
Indeed from mid 1973 to early 1976 The Allman Brothers Band was the biggest band in America and probably as big as Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones internationally. At Fillmore East and Eat A Peach sold over a million copies, Peach 2 million then unexpectedly and actually surprisingly even to Gregg, Brothers and Sisters sold over 7 million. Gregg was expecting Brothers and Sisters to stall and not sell that well while having high hopes for Laid Back.
And Gregg's voice, musicianship and song writing skills played an important part of the great success of the ABB.
I was and is a huge Gregg Allman fan. I have everything he released solo and ABB.
And with all due respect to GA, over the decades his interviews usually touched on depression, drug dealers, his excesses with drugs and alcohol and how he fought with determination to get his life under control and finally kick those bad habits.
But as we know he apparently always fell off the wagon so to speak and possibly never completely quelled those demons. Because similar interviews extended into the 2000's.
And this clip showed just how good Gregg could play a piano. Chords, melody and structure were always very good. Gregg was a very fine piano, organ and guitar player and by far the best singer ever in the Allman Brothers.
Hard to believe he has been gone since 2017.
I don't know why I can't let it go, my obsession, and it certainly isn't a resentment, and I appreciate how great a musician Gregg and Dickey and all the other guys were, but to me they all rode that Duane rocket freight train to fame. Even Eric, got propelled somewhat. Derek too. Bobby W sometimes lets his resentment slip. The power of great music. That was you, Mr Duane.
Even better, here's the band portion of Gregg's appearance. Backed by Lamar, Chuck, Jaimoe, Bill Stewart and Davis Causy - so basically Sea Level.
I was going to say exactly some of the same things that robertdee said but he beat me to it. I'll watch later to see the performances. Gregg was and is my favorite musician and I have a lot of love for the man. That being said, I had to shut this off at the 4:00 minute mark. I have heard his BS SO many times now that I am tired of hearing it again. "All the drugs, all the dealers..........all that stuff is behind me now." Huh-Huh. He was married to Cher while this interview aired. I haven't read Cher's biography although I'd like to. But I've read excerpts of it on Yahoo: "He kept going to rehab again and again and again. I felt sorry for him." And here he is on Geraldo Rivera telling the world he's clean. HA!! And because of hero worship, Geraldo and the crowd buy everything he is selling. Well I gotta admit, back then, I probably would have also.
I remember seeing this appearance but it's been so long I forgot Nevertheless was played. Of course that appeared on the ABB album Win, Loose or Draw the follow up to Brothers and Sisters.
Yes that lineup minus Gregg, Jimmy Nalls and Bill Stewart was the expanded the expanded version of Sea Level. George Weaver took over the drums after the four man ( Leavell, Williams, Nalls, Jaimoe) version put out the first album. The second album Cats On The Coast also had Randall Bramblett in it too.
I saw the four man version twice but by the time I saw the Cats On The Coast version, Jaimoe was gone. I was told by a roadie or soundman Jaimoe quit.
Davis Causey was impressive on electric guitar back then. Until Cats on the Coast, I had never heard of Davis.
Here is a clip of Davis Causey and he's of course older but he could stand in for Eric Clapton at this age and those not that familiar with Clapton in attendance may not no the different:)
Gregg was painfully shy and seemed to be bit of a pleaser - someone who tells people what they think they want to hear (common with substance abusers, I find). He might have even been trying to convince himself. I take it all with a grain of salt, his interviews were only revealing for what they omitted. Even later in life his stories were carefully crafted, more tale than truth. And that's ok, legend is more interesting than banging your toe on a night stand. He did a big media tour to promote his book in 2012 and, depending on the interviewer, could get pretty uncomfortable even discussing stuff he willingly revealed in his book.
@tenorsfan You are correct to a large extent I think. Gregg admitted he was thinking about leaving the ABB and going to dental school when Idlewild South also failed to be a good seller. But Duane assured him the live album Duane decided to do would get them going in fine fashion by getting that fire we have live on a record. Gregg felt he owed his success to his brother.
Dickey said in a 2006 interview he wants to think his writing, guitar playing and singing was good enough that eventually he would have become known to some extent and would be able to get his music on a record and out to the people but it didn't happen that way so he sometimes wonders if he wasn't lucky enough to have gotten hooked up with Duane Allman and Berry Oakley and the other guys and that energy if he would have become successful in the music business.
By extension Warren Haynes post Dickey's passing said he owed his career to Dickey and that things didn't get moving for him until Dickey asked him to join Dickey's band then the Allman Brothers Band.
Derek Trucks said one of the biggest highlights of his career was having Duane Allman's chair in the Allman Brothers and playing those old songs the Allman Brothers played alongside of Dickey as Duane did years before. That playing with Dickey, B. B. King and Clapton are highlights of his career.
I think everyone who was ever in the Allman Brothers knows a chunk of their success is because of Duane Allman. !!!
Someone here beat me to it!... I too remember the original broadcast and had not seen this since...Love the fact that a couple of tunes aside from "Melissa" are included here....."Nevertheless" is cool...
Even better, here's the band portion of Gregg's appearance. Backed by Lamar, Chuck, Jaimoe, Bill Stewart and Davis Causy - so basically Sea Level.
Mid 70's I was in NYC during some touristy things and one was going to a taping of the $10,000 Pyramid (Dick Clark the host). As we were waiting for the show to begin all of a sudden they were playing this through the house speakers, these two exact performances (none of the band introductions though). I asked one of the employees if he could identify the source and if there was more to it, he just shrugged his shoulders. I never saw the original performances on the Geraldo broadcast. Mystery solved.
"There is no mechanical problem so difficult that it cannot be solved by brute force and ignorance"
This is interesting if you haven't seen it!
