The Late Gregg Allman: The Man & The Legacy

Gone, but not forgotten. Gregg Allman leaves us with his last album Southern Blood. With a true love for music, Allman spent his music giving us life.

Earlier this year, the music industry said goodbye to the legendary singer-songwriter Gregg Allman, but fans of the southern rock artist will be thrilled to know that his last studio album, Southern Blood, will be released in September.

Southern Blood is Allman’s eighth studio album and the first from him since the release of his Low Country Blues in 2011, which received a Grammy nomination for Best Blues Album.

“Gregg Allman cared deeply about this final album,” said Don Was, a music producer who worked with Allman on Southern Blood. “He had very specific ideas about what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.”

In an interview, Was called the album, “a very poignant, reflective collection of songs called ‘Southern Blood.”

Allman passed away in May at 69 years old from liver cancer and, unfortunately, won’t be able to see the album’s release and the fans’ response. “Everything you need to know about Gregg and how he felt at the end of his life is contained in the lyrics to these 10 songs and in the raw and expressive approach he brings to these last performances,” said Was.

One song, in particular, “Song For Adam,” a song that reminded Gregg of his brother Duane, wasn’t even completed, but was left on the album. “When he gets to the line ‘still it seems that he stopped singing in the middle of his song’ you can hear him choke up and falter. We decided to stop for the day, and Gregg never got the chance to actually sing those next two lines.  Leaving them open seemed like a poignant and poetic way for him to make his exit.”

Was said that Allman spent his final night listening to the latest mixes. “He closed his eyes for the last time knowing that his vision had been realized,” he said. “Everyone involved in the making of this record hopes that it moves you and brings you great comfort in the years to come.”

Gregg and his brother Duane founded the legendary Allman Brothers Band and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.  The Southern Blood album was recorded at Fame Recording Studios, in Muscle

Shoals, Alabama and fans will enjoy special appearances by Jackson Browne and the McCrary Sisters.

"The album will be available in September. "

 

To read more about Gregg Allman, subscribe now or pick up the August/September issue of South magazine.