“Me and my brother, Duane…””Boy, I’m tellin’ ‘ya, it was us against the world, man.” “We didn’t have none of that crap.” “Sex was the finest thing I’d had since black-eyed peas.” If you’re looking for well-written literature, you won’t find it here. My Cross to Bear is a sit-down with Gregg Allman; simple, conversational, truthful, and candid. It’s an authentic rock n’ roll autobiography, so maybe being grammatically correct is not so important in this context. The book’s title is taken from the song, “It’s Not My Cross to Bear” off of the 1969 Allman Brothers debut album. More than 40 years later in his memoir, Allman is accepting responsibility for the pain he caused, letting go of what he couldn’t change, and honestly telling his story.
It had been a while since I read a rock biography (see the previous Remain in Love by Chris Franz: A Story of Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, and Love) and had heard about this one for some time. His relationship with brother Duane, two deaths in the band, feud with Dickey Betts, marriage to Cher, and the sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll lifestyle promised to be a page-turner. While the Allman Brothers were never one of my favorite bands, back in the early 1970s before the advent of punk and new wave, they held a secure place in my classic rock pantheon. Led Zeppelin, The Who, and the Stones alongside prog rockers Yes and Genesis, and Southern rockers led by the Allmans, Marshall Tucker, and the Outlaws. Brothers and Sisters (“Rambin’ Man”) and Eat a Peach (“Blue Sky”) got a lot of play on the turntable.
Born in Nashville in 1947, Allman moved with his mother and brother to Daytona Beach in 1959 where the formative rock n’ roll years took place. One early band was the Allman Joys (really). Songs from the band’s namesake debut album and second release (Idlewild South) were immortalized in 1971 in Live at Fillmore East. Take a look at any top 10 list of best live albums and you’ll find this near, or at, the top. The story of Duane stumbling upon the Layla sessions for the classic Derek and the Dominoes 1970 double album is a guitar lovers dream. Eric Clapton and Duane Allman playing together. Gregg and the band’s world came to an abrupt halt on October 29, 1971 when Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident. They dedicated 1972’s Eat a Peach to him. Tragedy struck again 13 months later when bassist and founding member Berry Oakley also died in a motorcycle accident. The band continued with Dickey Betts in a leadership role and released Brothers and Sisters in 1973. The album with “Ramblin’ Man” and “Jessica” became the band’s pinnacle. By 1975 and the Win, Lose or Draw album and tour (the only time I ever saw them), the band was disintegrating in a swirl of drugs, solo tours, Cher’s media attention, and animosity all around.
It’s always interesting and sometimes amusing to hear what rock stars thought of their contemporaries. He shares some good road memories of hanging out with Jackson Browne, Jim Morrison, Poco, and Buffalo Springfield. Others not so much. He didn’t get the Grateful Dead, “they ain’t got no groove to it at all.” The Marshall Tucker Band was all Toy Caldwell, “I wouldn’t give you a nickel for the rest of them.” And Cher…well, “not a very good singer.”
Five kids with five different women. Eighteen trips to rehab. Hepatitis C, liver transplant, and finally liver cancer. Three band breakups and three reunions. It’s all part of Gregg Allman’s narrative. Despite all this drama, the storytelling is rather pedestrian, sparse, and shallow. I look forward to the album-by-album descriptions in these rock bios. Allman provides a skimpy analysis of the band’s output, even for the run of classics in the ’70s. I had to keep telling myself that this is the Gregg Allman story and not that of the Allman Brothers band. Thus, he spends almost as much time on his seven solo albums. That’s appropriate, but even in the most tragic and personal events of his life, like his brother’s death, the discussion is brief and leaves you wanting more details. If you’re a big Gregg Allman and Allman Brothers fan you’ve probably read the book. If you’re like me, it’s an enjoyable read, but will leave you wishing for more insight into his extraordinary life.
D² Rating ◼◼◼☐☐
Trivia: The Allman Brothers had a remarkable run of shows at which landmark NYC theater?
Answer: The Beacon Theater. From 1989 until their final show on October 28, 2014, the band played 238 straight sellouts there.