The Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters

The Allman Brothers Band's mix of down-home groove and instrumental virtuosity, blues-drenched soul, guitar-driven rock, and dedication to all-night jamming, laid the groundwork for what became known as the Southern Rock movement. You can date it from March of 1969, when Florida-raised guitarist Duane Allman left Muscle Shoals, Alabama, where he'd established himself as an in-demand session player on recordings by Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis and Boz Scaggs, among others. 

Seeking to form his own dream band, Allman recruited bassist Berry Oakley and guitarist Dickey Betts from a Jacksonville, Florida band called the Second Coming. He also tapped not one but two drummers: the R&B veteran Jaimoe, who had worked with Otis Redding, Joe Tex, and Percy Sledge, and Butch Trucks, late of a Jacksonville folk-rock group, the 31st Of February. Hammond B-3 organist and lead vocalist Gregg Allman had recorded two albums with brother Duane as part of the L.A.-based Hourglass, and was developing into one of the finest white blues singers of all time.

The Allman Brothers Band's sonic trademarks were all in place by the time their self-titled debut album was released in 1969. Driven by the relentless propulsion of Jaimoe and Butch, Gregg's bluesy keyboard comping, and Berry's deep, melodic bass lines, Duane Allman and Dickey Betts crafted a unique twin lead guitar approach that took its cues from jazz horn players (particularly Miles Davis and John Coltrane) as well as the harmonized fiddle lines of Western swing and bluegrass. Together, they rewrote the rulebook on how rock guitarists could play together, and paved the way for every two - and even three-guitar band that would follow their path.