Gregg Allman

Two incidents made Gregg gravitate towards going into music- one was a R&B/Blues concert he attended in 1960 that featured Jackie Wilson, Otis Redding, B.B. King, and Patti Labelle. The other was a mentally challenged neighbor of Gregg’s grandmother by the name of Jimmy Banes who introduced Gregg to the guitar, as well as spending time with Gregg on his porch where he helped instill a love of music

Gregg would also listen to radio station WLAC which played the music of blues legends Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson, Lightnin’Hopkins and many more

Had Gregg not entered music, he had a strong interest in the medical field, and had every intention of being a dentist

He worked as a paperboy so he could save for his first guitar, which turned out to be a Sears Silvertone

While the guitar was Gregg’s first instrument, in the fall of 1965 while playing a series of gigs throughout the south, he recieved his first keyboard, which was a Vox, and taught himself to play it during that time

Gregg was strongly influenced by organist Jimmy Smith

The first time Gregg sat down at a Hammond B-3 was at his friends house, and he remembered being fascinated by the sound. He wrote “Dreams” and “It’s not My Cross To Bear on it.

Gregg’s 3rd solo release “I’m No Angel”, became a surprise radio hit. Gregg sanng it in the style of Bruce Springsteen and it hit #1 in Billboards Album Rock Tracks