Gregg Allman was exposed to music through Jimmy Banes, a mentally handicapped neighbor of his grandmother, who introduced him to the guitar.
He got a paper route to earn money to buy a Sears Silvertone guitar, which both he and his brother Duane played.
Another
influential event occurred in 1960, when Gregg and Duane attended a concert in
Nashville with Jackie
Wilson headlining
alongside Otis
Redding, B.B. King, and Patti LaBelle.
A Daytona Beach area electric
blues and soul guitarist, Floyd Miles, was also an influence. They began to jam with his band, the
Houserockers. “I would just sit there and study Floyd … I studied how he
phrased his songs, how he got the words out, and how the other guys sang along
with him”, Gregg recalled.
The Allman Brothers Band was a mixture of blues, rock, gospel, jazz, and
country which became known as southern rock.
Besides their own original compositions, they often covered blues songs re-arranged in their own style. The following videos are a sampling of these blues originals. We encourage you to explore these blues artists and other blues covers by the Allman Brothers further – maybe you’ll be inspired too.
Statesboro Blues – Taj Mahal
One Way Out – Sonny Boy Williamson
You Don’t Love Me – Junior Wells
Stormy Monday – Bobby “Blue” Bland
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregg_Allman
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Floyd_Miles
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statesboro_Blues
https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/7809635/the-allman-brothers-band-best-blues-covers
http://swampland.com/articles/view/title:the_25_best_songs_the_allman_brothers_band
https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/allman-brothers-bands-25-all-time-greatest-songs