Duane would have turned 66 years old today.

He was born on November 20, 1946 in Nashville, Tennessee.

I've always been in love with the guitar and when I first heard Duane give voice to his soulful, often plaintive cries on the instrument, I was completely under the spell.

I remember listening to his "An Anthology" double album over and over, carving deep grooves in the vinyl, mesmerized by the bluesy wail of his axe.

Primary leader and co-founder of The Allman Brothers Band, session musician, and enormous contributor to Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs by Derek and the Dominos, we lost him and his incredible talent when he was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971 when he was only 24-years-old.

When I learned he had died, I mourned with the rest of the music world the loss of such a great musician.

His slide and lead guitar on Layla will be forever in the hearts of all classic rockers, especially those of us who grew up listening to, and being shaped by, the music.

Now, granted, he was not a great singer like his brother Gregg, but he more than made up for that with his playing, don't you think?

From a review of Duane's career:

"Duane Allman was a once-in-a-generation talent, a self-taught guitarist of innate skill that could grab a song by its throat and shake something unexpected and special out of the performance."

R.I.P. Duane Allman.

 

More From 105.7 The Hawk