Jimi Hendrix has always been my favorite musician, with all due respect to Duane and all the other great guitarists like Derek in the ABB family tree.

If you take the Allman Brothers out of the equation, my favorite band is probably a tossup between Santana and The Meters/Funky Meters.

I always thought too...

What if...

Duane never died, and was still alive. No Warren in the ABB. He probably would have not met Woody. No Gov't Mule. Where would Mr Haynes be in the music world?

Bonham would have lived.

Bon Scott still with us.

Skynyrd plane not going down.

Tommy Bolin still playing, Peter Green does not take a bad trip,Jim Morrision and Hendrix still doing there thing, Keith Moon, etc......

I'm with you funk. I always thought : What if Duane hadn't died.

I believe:
We would never debate who was the greatest guitarist.

We would never debate who was the best band.

We would have live albums BETTER than AFE.

The world would be in perfect harmony !

I can dream can't I ?

"What if Duane HADN'T died ..."

First of all, this totally bends and flips the original idea of this thread.

I'll bite, though. If Duane hadn't died, I honestly believe the Allman Brother's Band would have ceased around 1980 or so - if they'd gone on that long. Like all the other classic era bands who are reuniting (for the money), I imagine the ABB would probably have done a reunion tour a few years ago (40th anniversary).

While I never met Duane, I've talked to a few who did know him. They describe him as a forward thinking person and musician who might have sought new ground and formats. This is not unlike Derek with TTB. I don't think he would have felt a need to stay with the status quo merely to satisfy the needs of fans. He was an artist.

Just my $.02. Feel free to differ.

B.B. King, SRV, Clapton for me. what would layla have sounded like?

What would Layla have sounded like?, Who knows, but it's so simple a child could play it!

that's awesome

a couple interesting things - it looked like Derek was holding a pick between the fingers of his right hand, he probably used it earlier in the tune
another is that he through in a couple of "classic" slide licks that you hear other players use a lot but he has long since abandoned.

thanks for posting

"What if Duane HADN'T died ..."

First of all, this totally bends and flips the original idea of this thread.

I'll bite, though. If Duane hadn't died, I honestly believe the Allman Brother's Band would have ceased around 1980 or so - if they'd gone on that long. Like all the other classic era bands who are reuniting (for the money), I imagine the ABB would probably have done a reunion tour a few years ago (40th anniversary).

While I never met Duane, I've talked to a few who did know him. They describe him as a forward thinking person and musician who might have sought new ground and formats. This is not unlike Derek with TTB. I don't think he would have felt a need to stay with the status quo merely to satisfy the needs of fans. He was an artist.

Just my $.02. Feel free to differ.

As an artist he would have helped the band to evolve. Gregg and Dickey's issues were largely because of grief over his death, so things would have been very different in the band. I think Duane would have been he one to advocate cutting back on the substance use, as in Al Paul's book he relates Duane said 'it's doing me' rather than 'me doing it'. He realized he was not in control over it. One he overcame that, he would have wanted everyone else to.

I think the evolution in the band would have been him helping the others to showcase their talents to the max. Dickey would have stepped up with Duane's approval and prodding, Duane wasn't on a star trip, he just wanted to have a great band, he just had more balls than anyone else which is why he was the leader, you could hear it in his playing, he was not afraid to let out what was inside, he just trusted it would come out right and it did. Dickey does that also, but it took awhile to get to that point. Derek does it also but to a more limited extent. He plays what he feels, but he doesn't just let that tantrum out 100%. Derek's got the torture in himself which makes him a good bluesman, but he still restrains himself. Dickey just lets it out, which is what he learned from Duane.

There are so many questions one can think of -

What if there was no Duane, and no ABB was formed.

What if there was no Duane, but Gregg and the others bands.

What if there was no Duane or Gregg. Would Dickey have developed the signature sound with someone else (ie. Gary Rossington).

How would music as a whole have changed? Would southern music have influenced as many people as it has or would it have stayed on the sidelines?

One thing I heard recently, "everyone who comes into your life is either a blessing or a lesson."

I'll bite, though. If Duane hadn't died, I honestly believe the Allman Brother's Band would have ceased around 1980 or so - if they'd gone on that long.

Since you brought this up, I'll chime in as well. 1980 or so makes sense because of the type of music they brought and the changes in music they faced. But I can also add that I feel under Duane's wing they would have stayed the course much like the Dead managed to, to quote Jerry Garcia. when asked how the GD "stayed current" his reply was that "we did not because we've never been current". The ABB might have been that as well, not a hit machine of any type, but a blues outfit that just did their own thing. Duane more than likely would have had side projects as well, venturing off into jazz and following his guitar, wherever it led him. But I believe his heart was with the brothers and he would have always returned in time for a new record, tour or set of alternate ideas. The brothers were his family and home base.