What was the only hit single by The Allman Brothers Band?
Pioneers of the southern rock genre, The Allman Brothers Band have many stellar moments to their name, including classic hits such as ‘Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More’ and ‘Melissa’.
Famously, the group was formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969, by guitarist Duane Allman, who enlisted his brother Gregg, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson to bring his dream to life. Tragically, Duane Allman’s time in the limelight was cut short when he died in a motorcycle accident in October 1971. However, in a testament to his life and work, the group dedicated their 1972 masterpiece, Eat a Peach, to their fallen bandmate.
The 1972 album, which featured numbers such as ‘Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More’ and ‘Melissa’, was coloured by Duane Allman’s distinctive slide guitar and heady soloing and cemented the band as one of the staples of this rock era. Yet after his death and this release, they would continue to find much success, and ironically, given his importance to the group, and status as a definitive guitar-playing hero, they would enjoy their only hit single.
This arrived on the group’s following album, 1973’s Brothers and Sisters. As a grim side note, the band experienced another catastrophe while making this record when bassist Berry Oakley died in a motorcycle accident similar to Allman in November 1972. He had struggled to cope with the death of Duane Allman, living to excess, drinking heavily and taking drugs. This was the last album he played on.
Despite the duo of tragedies in their ranks, The Allman Brothers Band elected to continue and added Lamar Williams on bass and Chuck Leavell on piano. Guitarist Dickey Betts assumed the role of leader, with his compositions following a more country-concentrated direction, with sessions guitarists Les Dudek and Tommy Talton also featuring on the album.
A critical and commercial success, Brothers and Sisters remains the band’s most successful effort, selling over seven million copies globally. At the time, it sat at number one on the top 200 Pop Albums chart for five weeks, with the lead single ‘Ramblin’ Man’ becoming the group’s only hit single in their history. It peaked at number two on Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1973 and went to the top spot on the US Cashbox Top 100 and 12 on the Easy Listening chart.
Famously, ‘Ramblin’ Man’ was composed and sung by Dickey Betts and was inspired by the 1951 classic by Hank Williams. The group was reluctant to record such a heavily country-leaning number at first, but after they heard the final version, all were convinced by its power. This is one of two tracks on the album that Les Dudek provided his guitar on, the other being ‘Jessica’. As another dose of history, the bass performance is one of Berry Oakley’s last for The Allman Brothers Band.
‘Ramblin’ Man’ was one of the first songs recorded for the album, alongside ‘Wasted Words’. “We played it all live. I was standing where Duane would have stood with Berry just staring a hole through me and that was very intense and very heavy,” Dudek recalls in Alan Paul’s book One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. According to the guitarist, when the song was completed, the group’s management and road crew gathered in the studio to listen. The room was silent when it concluded, with their storied roadie, Red Dog, asserting, “That’s the best I heard since Duane”.
