Duane Allman &Bricco delle Ciliegie Roero Arneis

I’ve got some very rare footage tonight of one of my favorite guitarists of all time. Duane Allman (Howard Duane Allman), (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was the co-founder and leader of the Allman Brothers Band, until his early death in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of twenty-four. As members of the Allman Brothers band, Duane was known as the guitarist while Greg was the keyboard player. But it was Gregg who first started playing the guitar. In 1960, Gregg had saved enough money to buy his first guitar, a Japanese-made Teisco Silvertone, while Duane bought a Harley 165 motorbike. But watching Gregg play began to pique Duane’s interest in the instrument, leading to fights over the guitar. Finally fed up with the fighting, their mother went out and bought Duane a Gibson Les Paul Junior. He got the better deal.

Duane learned to play very quickly and soon became the better guitarist of the two, dropping out of high school to stay home during the day and focus on developing his guitar skills. Duane and Gregg played off and on in several local bands until one day in 1968, Gregg paid a visit to Duane on his 22^nd birthday only to find his brother sick with a fever. Gregg’s birthday gift was a bottle of Coricidin tablets and Taj Mahal’s debut album. About two hours after Gregg left, he got a call from Duane urging him to get back over to Gregg’s house ASAP. When Gregg got there, he found that Duane had poured the pills out of the bottle, washed off the label and was using it as a slide to play “Statesboro Blues.” Duane had never played slide before, but just picked it up and started burning.

After years of session playing, Allman got together with R&B and jazz drummer Jaimoe Johnson, and through a convoluted path, eventually accumulated band members Butch Trucks, Berry Oakley, and Dickie Betts. The Allman Brothers Band went on to become one of the most influential rock groups of the 1970s, as well as one of the best.

Statesboro Blues: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rUgk_Tsee6s&feature=related

Whipping Post:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j6mwOixCObc&feature=related

Loan me a dime: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvDlenMEf4k&feature=related

Amazing Grace: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9OGNMJ0-Kw&feature=related

Little Martha: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmSPCOby-1A&feature=fvwrel

Dreams: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7IIH6bB4Jo&feature=related

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed/Whipping post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo6NbP0IbOQ&feature=related

Fillmore East Concert: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hywD2E5fetE&feature=related

Summer weather arrived early this year so I got a jump on my white wines. Tonight I’m pairing Duane Allman with a wonderful refreshing wine, a 2011 Bricco delle Ciliegie Roero Arneis ($18.00). This is a great wine to be sipped alone or with food and it goes well with fish or fowl. Paired it with grilled salmon tonite…delicious!)   The wine is made from the Arneis grape. It’s pale yellow with aromas of green apples, lemon, and lime that follow on the palate. It has a tiny bit of fizz that makes it all the more refreshing. But be fore warned; you’ll probably want more than one bottle. Enjoy!

Cheers!