The estate of Gregg Allman will open the legendary musician’s personal archives for its first official release with Gregg Allman Band — Uncle Sam’s. Out September 20th via Gregg’s posthumous label Sawrite Records, the full-length live album captures his solo band’s July 1st, 1983 concert at the intimate Uncle Sam’s in Hull, MA.
The year 1983 was a transitional time for Gregg Allman. The Allman Brothers Band broke up the year prior, and the band’s commercial high-water mark Brothers and Sisters was a decade in the rearview. Escaping the inner turmoil that plagued ABB through the latter half of the 1970s, Allman built his band his way, remarking “With my band there’s only one cook in the kitchen.”
He stocked the Gregg Allman Band with two former members of the Allmans, lead guitarist Danny Toler and his younger brother Frankie (who briefly replaced Jaimoe in what Gregg later called “One of the real blights on the history of the [band]”) on drums. By 1983, Bruce Waibel had worked his way up from roadie to rhythm guitarist, joined by bassist Gregg Voorhees, percussionist Chaz Trippy, and a horn section of brothers Donn and Larry Finney, sax/flute and trumpet respectively.
Gone were the days of packing Robert F. Kennedy stadium with the Grateful Dead or the historic 1973 Summer Jam concert in Watkins Glen, NY, replaced by Gregg selling out the small club in coastal Massachusetts. Despite the noticeable change in venue, Allman’s commitment to his art and his audience remained steadfast—his bluesy growl taking on even greater gravitas in light of all he’s experienced in the last decade. The group filled the setlist with ABB staples including the opening acoustic “Midnight Rider” (available now), a flowing “Dreams”, “Hot ‘Lanta”, “Trouble No More”, “Melissa”, and a lights-out version of “Statesboro Blues” to close the show. You may have heard Gregg Allman sing “Midnight Rider” plenty of times, but how many featured a flute?
Check out the recording of “Midnight Rider” from Gregg Allman Band — Uncle Sam’s, available here for pre-order.
Gregg Allman Band — “Midnight Rider”
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