Allman Brothers Band - Jacksonville Beach 1969 (2020)

FINALLY AVAILABLE ABBS FIRST EVER SHOW BUT WITHOUT GREGG Duane and Gregg Allman formed their first band, the Escorts, which evolved into the Allman Joys, in the mid-1960s. By 1967, they had moved to St. Louis, where a Los Angeles-based recording executive discovered them; they consequently moved out West and were renamed the Hour Glass, cutting two unsuccessful albums for Liberty Records. . Duane then moved back East to pursue a career as a session musician at Muscle Shoals Studios, Alabama, while Gregg stayed behind in Hollywood, bound by contractual obligations with Liberty, who believed he could hold a solo career. The two were apart for the first time for a year, but managed to reconvene in Miami, producing an album-length demo with the 31st of February, a group that included drummer Butch Trucks. At FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Duane Allman became the primary session guitarist, recording with artists such as Aretha Franklin and King Curtis. Duane suggested to Wilson Pickett they record a cover of the Beatles Hey Jude ; the single went to number 23 on the national charts. FAME signed Duane to a five-year recording contract, and he put together a group, including Johnny Sandlin and Paul Hornsby. Duane recruited Jai Johanny Johanson (Jaimoe) after hearing his drumming on a demo, and the two moved into his home on the Tennessee River. Allman invited bassist Berry Oakley to jam with the new group; the pair had met in a Macon, Georgia club some time earlier, and became quick friends. The group had immediate chemistry, and Duane's vision for a "different" band - one with two lead guitarists and two drummers - began evolving. Meanwhile, Phil Walden, the manager of the late Otis Redding was looking to expand with rock acts. FAME owner Rick Hall became frustrated with the group's recording methods, and offered the tracks recorded and their contract to Walden and Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, who purchased them for $10,000. Walden intended the upcoming group to be the centrepiece of his new Atlantic-distributed label, Capricorn. Duane and Jaimoe moved to Jacksonville in early March 1969, as Duane had become frustrated with being a "robot" of those at FAME. He invited anyone who wanted to join the jam sessions that birthed the Allman Brothers Band. Dickey Betts, leader of Oakley's previous band, the Second Coming, became the group's second lead guitarist, while Butch Trucks, with whom Duane and Gregg had cut a demo less than a year prior, became their second drummer. The Second Coming's Reese Wynans played keyboards, and Duane, Oakley, and Betts all shared vocal duties. The unnamed group began to perform free shows in Willow Branch Park in Jacksonville, with an ever-changing, rotating cast of musicians. Duane felt strongly his brother should be the vocalist of the new band, as Gregg also played keyboards; but he initially felt intimidated by the other musicians, although he was attending some rehearsals by late March 1969. Despite Gregg not yet a full member, the group agreed on the name The Allman Brothers Band and performed under that name for their first show at the Jacksonville Armory, the only gig they played as ABB without Gregg. Now released for the first time in its entirety on CD, this historic recording, perhaps not the best quality full live show available by this legendary group, is certainly one of the rarest and most sought after.