Dickey, I tried to do justice to the love and respect you and my father had for each other, always. The sound of your guitars together carried me through this journey and taught me so much.
Bonnie Bramlett, beautiful and fiery woman, you stood toe-to-toe with these talented men and sang your song. I treasure you. Thank you for sharing with me.
Johnny Sandlin, the sweetest of them all, you and Ann opened your home, your family, and your memories to me. You were the first one I came to, and I am so lucky I did. Thank you for introducing me to the legendary gentlemen of Muscle Shoals: David Hood, Jimmy Johnson, and Spooner Oldham. I thank each of you for your memories, your time, and for playing the soundtrack of my life.
Rick Hall, thank you for my enjoyable time at FAME, and for sharing your memories in such a vivid and exciting way. And thank you for giving Duane his shot.
Pete Carr, thank you for sharing your memories and the only picture of my parents together.
Paul Hornsby, thank you for your insights and the songs you played me on your piano.
Bill Connell, thank you for bringing the Allman Joys to life for me with your stories.
John McEuen, thank you for sharing your memories about the wild L.A. days.
Rob McNeish, the letter my father wrote your mother, Holly, is a perfectly captured moment in time. Thank you so much for sharing it with me.
Thom Doucette, thank you for your honesty. I could truly see my father through your eyes and I am so grateful for that.
Thank you to Twiggs Lyndon’s brothers—John, Skoots, and A.J.—for your incredible act of love: giving me my father’s guitar. Thank you for sharing your memories and Twiggs’s remarkable photos. Twiggs’s jacket protected and inspired me while I wrote.
Scott Boyer, thank you for the long talk and for graciously allowing me to use “Please Be with Me,” the title of your beautiful song, as the title of this book. It’s a song I’ve always relied on to find my father’s heart. It works every time.
Jerry Jemmott, thank you for teaching me to chant “Nam myoho renge kyo” in front of a huge golden Buddha. That was quite a day.
Mac Rebennack, you said, “Your daddy went to heaven on the back of a red-tailed hawk. Never forget that. Light a candle for him and be proud of your ancestry.” I won’t, I will, and I am. Thank you for your friendship and your music.
Floyd Miles, thank you for your constant love and support of Gregory and Granny, and your generous time spent with me.
Boz Scaggs, thank you for telling me such a great story, in the same warm voice you sing in. A vivid tale.
George Gruhn, thank you for the fascinating conversations. I hope to meet you and the snakes someday.
Charlie and Richie Ingui, thank you for sharing your memories with me.
Ronnie Hawkins, thanks for the talk, and for telling me I am “as sweet as a mother’s love.” So are you.
John Paul Hammond, thank you for sharing your story and your music with me. You are the real deal.
Thank you to Albhy Galuten, Karl Richardson, and Sam Hare for bringing the Layla sessions to life. It was a real challenge, and you three saved the day.
Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, watching you both play has been an education and a gift. Thank you for answering my questions and being true friends. You are living proof that Duane continues to inspire. He would be so proud of you.
Oteil Burbridge, thank you for telling me I already know what it feels like to play music: like giving a gift to someone you love. Thank you for your friendship.
Marc Quinones, thank you for being a brother to me and to the band.
Colonel Bruce Hampton, you are a remarkable man and I thank you for sharing your memories of Duane and for teachin’ the young’uns how to fly.
Brian Farmer, just ’cuz. Thank you for all the support and love, brother.
Chank Middleton, you gave me the biggest laugh of all when you told me what Mama A said to you about life on the road: “It’s like going in the asshole of everywhere and seeing the front of nothing.” True!
Kim Payne, you are the salt in my soup. You gave this book the kick in the pants it needed. Thank you for your love, your humor, and your honesty.
Tuffy Phillips, sitting with you was one of the great highlights of my journey. You are all heart, but I won’t tell anybody.
Judi Petty, thank you for your loving memories of Twiggs and Joe Dan. You’re a peach.
Ellen Hopkins, thank you for the stories and the flight with dragons.
John Rosenberg, thank you for years of support and sage advice. You are a true friend.
Bert Holman, thank you for your friendship and for sharing your knowledge with me. You keep the wheels rolling.
Jonny Podell, you are the original badass with a big heart. I can’t wait to read your book.
Vaylor Trucks, thank you for sharing your remarkable understanding of how Duane and Dickey played together so harmoniously. You have a brilliant mind.
Michael Lehman, thank you for your tireless support of my uncle and your kindness to me.
E. J. Devokaitis, thank you for your constant support, your encyclopedic knowledge of all things ABB, and your tireless enthusiasm. You are my brother.
Thanks to Jared Wright, Andrea Adgie, Scott Bergin, Richard Brent, and Jeromy Haines for assisting E.J.
John Lynskey, thank you for your friendship and your belief in this book.
Amalie R. Rothschild, thank you for your beautiful photographs, your insights into the Fillmore East, and your warm friendship.
John Gellman, what a gift to find such beautiful shots of my father after all this time! Thank you for sharing them so graciously.
Stephen Paley, thank you for the incredible photographs and for sharing your memories.
Salli Jo Doud, thank you for the great picture. What a treasure.
Maggie Olive, thank you for sharing your father Jim Higgins’s photos with me.
Sydney Smith, Albert J. Sullivan, and Jeff Albertson, thank you for the use of your remarkable photographs. They bring him home to me.
To Duane and Gregg’s childhood friends in Daytona: Albert Teebagy, Penny Vernon, and Mina Sue Kelly. Thank you for your stories and your kindness.
Jim Carter, thank you for sharing memories and for being my Granny’s guardian angel.
Joanne Patten, thank you for sharing Larry Beck’s tapes with me. I couldn’t have given him his rightful place in my father’s story without your help.
Rob Hosier, thank you for telling me about the world of Castle Heights, and sending the yearbooks, pictures, and mementos of that time.
Thanks to my father’s first champions in the music business, Phil Walden and Jerry Wexler, for their passionate and eloquent conversations over the years. I am so grateful I spoke to both of them before they left us. May they rest in peace.
Jim Marshall, another friend I lost along the way—you were one of the most unique and talented people I have ever known, with a huge heart and a mouth to match. I miss you. And thank you to Jay Blakesberg for enabling me to share Jim’s beautiful photographs.
In memory of Joseph “Red Dog” Campbell: You showed your love for me and my father every single time I saw you. There will never be another like you.
We also lost Joe Dan Petty and Michael Callahan during the years I was writing, and they are both so loved and so missed.
To my nearest and dearest friends, who walked beside me while I carried this book on my back. I could not have made it without your love, insight, humor, and chutzpah. I love each of you so much.
Barbara Herman, you held my hand and kicked my ass, and you knew precisely which I needed in tough moments. I never would have started without your push, and I never would have finished without your love. You are a will in heels.
Catherine Zimmer, thank you for thirty years of friendship. Your keen mind, immense strength, and ridiculous humor help me survive.
Dana Landis, you are my sister. You see things more clearly than anyone and you are stronger than y
ou know. I am thankful for you every day.
Noah Landis, thank you for sharing this lifelong love with me. There are no words, only songs for you.
Zeena Meurer, thank you for your constant love and belief in me. Our friendship is one of my life’s great gifts. Your careful reading did this book so much good.
Matt Friedson, my fellow writer and romantic, thank you for your careful readings, pep talks, and cutting wit.
Aya de Leon, another woman who picked up a pen and found her way, you are my spiritual bandmate. Walking with you keeps my feet on the ground.
Thank you to my sweet friends Katie Danielson, Christine Rotolo, and Greg Dale, who read my drafts, fed me beautiful meals, played me songs, and let me cry on their shoulders.
Sasha Voynow, every important thing I know about living like a grownup I learned with you or from you. Thank you for the many years of love and support.
Karinne Dotinga Quinn, thank you for your careful guidance and friendship. You’ve helped me become stronger than I have ever been before.
Madeline Feingold, I could not have done this without your wisdom and constant support. I don’t know how I feel about anything until I tell you.
Thanks to my publisher and editor, Julie Grau. Your patience and understanding through the often difficult gestation and birth of this book meant everything to me. You made this book stronger in every way. Thank you for your trust and your understanding.
Thanks to the kind, focused, and organized Laura Van der Veer. I am grateful for all of your help.
Thanks to my agent, Richard Pine of Inkwell Management. The way we met was the most magical moment of this entire process. I have no doubt he led me to you. You saw the potential in me and in this project from the first paragraph of the first letter. I am so lucky to have you in my corner. You are my champion.
I share this story with all of the Allman Brothers’ kids. I hope this book returns a piece of our shared history to you and to your children. Nothing would make me prouder. With love to Michael Allman, Devon Allman, Elijah Blue Allman, Delilah Island Allman, Layla Brooklyn Allman, Kimberly Betts, Christie Betts, Jessica Betts, Duane Betts, Jahonie Johnson, Cajai Johnson, Brittany Oakley, Berry Duane Oakley, Vaylor Trucks, Melody Trucks, Seth Trucks, and Elise Trucks, and the children of the crew: Rachael Callahan, Hope Phillips, Michael Phillips, Jody Petty, J. J. Petty, and Clark Bush.
Letters
What follows are selected letters that appear or are referenced in the body of the book and are reprinted here as facsimiles.
Duane’s first entry in the appointment calendar Rick Hall gave him, January 1, 1969
From Duane to Donna, Muscle Shoals, Alabama, February 4, 1969
From Duane to Holly Barr, Macon, Georgia, May 16, 1969
From Berry to Linda, Boston, Massachusetts, June 12, 1969
From Berry to Linda, New York, New York, August 14, 1969
From Duane to Donna, Virginia Beach, Virginia, November 27, 1969
From Berry to Linda, New York, New York, February 14, 1970
From Duane to Donna, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, September 5, 1970
Photo Credits
All photos in the book appear courtesy of Galadrielle Allman, with the following exceptions:
11.1 and 12.1: courtesy of Steven Paley
13.1, 14.1, and 19.1: courtesy of the Estate of Twiggs Lyndon
16.1: courtesy of Sidney Smith
18.1: © A. J. Sullivan
20.1, 22.1, and 24.1: © Jim Marshall Photography LLC
23.1: © Jeff Albertson/Corbis
21.1: courtesy of Jeffrey Mayer
Insert:
1.1: courtesy of Castle Heights Military Academy
1.2, 1.3 and 1.16: courtesy of Stephen Paley
1.4, 1.6, 1.7, 1.9, and 1.12: courtesy of the Estate of Twiggs Lyndon
1.5: courtesy of Pete Carr
1.8: courtesy of Sally Jo Doud
1.10: © Bob Gruen/www.bobgruen.com
1.11 and 1.14, 1.15: © Jim Marshall Photography LLC
1.13: courtesy of the Estate of Tom Doud
1.17: courtesy of Sydney Smith
1.18: courtesy of the Estate of James F. Higgins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
GALADRIELLE ALLMAN is the producer of Skydog: The Duane Allman Retrospective (Rounder Records). She lives in Berkeley, California. This is her first book.
Please Be with Me: A Song for My Father, Duane Allman Page 37