Gregg Allman
Gregory LeNoir "Gregg" Allman (born December 8, 1947) is an American rock and blues singer-songwriter, keyboardist, guitarist and a founding member, with his brother Duane, of The Allman Brothers Band. In the early 1970s, the Allman Brothers Band enjoyed huge success: their album Live at Filmore East is widely regarded as one of the best live albums ever made, and a number of their signature songs were written by Gregg. While it was unusual at the time, the band was based in the Southeastern United States. "Southern Rock," a term Gregg coined for their musical genre, is a fusion of rock, blues, and country. In spite of Duane's death in 1971, and a year later, that of bass guitarist Berry Oakley, both in motorcycle accidents, the band continued to record and tour. In addition, Allman developed a solo career and a band under his own name. Despite recent health issues, Allman still tours. His latest album Low Country Blues is a return to the blues. It was released in 2011 and includes "Just Another Rider" written by Allman. Gregg Allman was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. When he was inducted into the Georgia Music Hall of Fame on September 16, 2006 he was introduced by Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue and performed "Oncoming Traffic", "Melissa", and "Georgia on My Mind" solo and then ended with "Midnight Rider" backed by fellow inductees Bill Berry, Peter Buck, and Mike Mills from R.E.M. at the Georgia World Congress Center. His distinctive voice placed him in 70th place in the Rolling Stone list of the "100 Greatest Singers of All Time". Allman's memoirs of his life in music, My Cross to Bear, was released on May 1, 2012.