Rocker Gregg Allman dies at age 69

Rocker Gregg Allman dies at age 69



Gregg Allman, the legendary singer and father of Southern rock, has died at the age of 69.

His death comes just two months after the Allman Brothers Band co-founder cancelled all tour dates for the year.

He 'passed away peacefully' at his home in Savannah, Georgia on Saturday, according to a statement on the singer's website.

The father-of-five was married five times, including to the singer Cher - the mother of his son Elijah Blue Allman.



During his life Allman faced multiple health issues. A former alcoholic and drug addict, he contracted hepatitis C and underwent a liver transplant in 2010.

'Gregg struggled with many health issues over the past several years,' the statement about his death read.

'During that time, Gregg considered being on the road playing music with his brothers and solo band for his beloved fans, essential medicine for his soul.

'Playing music lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times.'

Born in Nashville, the rock star known for his long blond hair was raised in Florida by a single mother after his father was shot to death.

Allman idolized his older brother, Duane, and the pair founded the Allman Brothers Band in 1969. Duane was tragically killed in a motorcycle crash two years later as the group began to find mainstream success.

In his 2012 memoir, 'My Cross to Bear,' Allman described how Duane was a central figure in his life in the years after their father was murdered by a man he met in a bar.

The two boys endured a spell in a military school before being swept up in rock music in their teens. Although Gregg was the first to pick up a guitar, it was Duane who excelled at it. So Gregg later switched to the organ.



They failed to crack success until they formed The Allman Brothers Band in 1969. They partied to excess while defining a sound that still excites millions.

Their self-titled debut album came out in 1969, but it was their seminal live album 'At Fillmore East' in 1971 that catapulted the band to stardom.

Duane Allman had quickly ascended to the pantheon of guitar heroes before he died in the motorcycle accident in 1971.

The band's bassist Berry Oakley died in a car crash the following year, and Allman went on to have huge success as a prolific solo artist.

The 1970s brought more highly publicized turmoil: Allman was compelled to testify in a drug case against a former road manager for the band and his marriage to the actress and singer Cher was short-lived even by show business standards.

In 1975, Cher and Allman married three days after she divorced her husband and singing partner, Sonny Bono. Their marriage was tumultuous from the start with Cher requesting a divorce just nine days after their Las Vegas wedding.

She dismissed the suit a month later. Together they released a widely panned duets album under the name 'Allman and Woman.'

They had one child together, Elijah Blue, before Cher filed for divorce in 1979.

The Allman Brothers Band also split up in the 1980s and then re-formed several times over the years. Starting in 1990, more than 20 years after its founding, the reunited band began releasing new music and found a new audience



The multi-Grammy winning rocker was famous for classics like 'Midnight Rider,' 'Melissa' and the epic concert jam 'Whipping Post'.

In 1995 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental performance for 'Jessica' the following year.

In his memoir, Allman said he spent years overindulging in women, drugs and alcohol before getting sober in the mid-1990s. He said that after getting sober, he felt 'brand new' at the age of 50.

However, after all the years of unhealthy living he ended up with hepatitis C which severely damaged his liver. He underwent a liver transplant in 2010.

After the surgery, he turned music to help him recover and released his first solo album in 14 years 'Low Country Blues' in 2011.

Allman had cancelled some 2016 tour dates due to 'serious health issues.' Later that year, he canceled more dates, citing a throat injury.

Back in March of this year he announced he would not be performing at all this year, writing in a statement on his website that fans who bought tickets for concerts in June should 'contact the ticket outlet from where you purchased the tickets for a refund.'

Allman's longtime manager and close friend, Michael Lehman, said in a statement: 'I have lost a dear friend and the world has lost a brilliant pioneer in music. He was a kind and gentle soul with the best laugh I ever heard.

'His love for his family and bandmates was passionate as was the love he had for his extraordinary fans. Gregg was an incredible partner and an even better friend. We will all miss him.'

Allman is survived by his fifth wife Shannon Allman.