![]() ![]() ![]() They became recognized as one of the most influential bands ever, and through all of this Duane went on to become one of the most respected guitarists of all, once hitting the number 2 spot of Rolling Stone Magazine’s list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time, and inspiring many others to copy his sound and way of playing. He was a regular collaborator with fellow guitar great Eric Clapton, helping to record the smash hit song Layla. Clapton and Duane became very close friends, with Clapton once saying Duane was the “musical brother I'd never had but wished I did," and he was even offered to join Clapton’s band, Derek and the Dominos. He was highly sought after, and also a contributor to albums from various other famous artists, but despite this growing fame and clout, Duane would never leave The Allman Brothers Band, which was his true labor of love. There were some problems in the background. As with many famous musicians there was alcohol and drug abuse lurking around them, and Duane was not immune to this. In fact, his drug based demons came calling on October 29, 1970, during the heyday of the band’s success. The overdose was apparently pretty bad, and doctors did not think he was going to pull through, leaving only the prayers of his family, friends, and band mates to help him get past this.Īlthough the details seem to be unclear, on this evening Duane Allman suffered a serious drug overdose while in Nashville, and he was rushed to the hospital in very grim shape. According to the story, it was one of these prayers that would actually work to bring Duane from the brink of death. It is said that one time the bass guitarist of The Allman Brothers band, Berry Oakley, was deep in angst at what he truly thought was Duane’s deathbed and praying heavily. It was then that Berry Oakley entered into a personal bargain with God.įellow band member Butch Trucks would later say in an interview: He supposedly begged God to allow his friend to live one more year so that they could complete an album and allow Duane to continue doing what he loved. Oakley pleaded with God to give Duane just one more year of life, one more year to play his music and live his dream.Īpparently someone was listening, because against all odds the guitarist’s health improved dramatically and he survived what was widely believed by surprised doctors to be a fatal overdose. At the time it was considered to be a miracle, and Duane went back to playing, doing sessions and working on their next studio album. Everything appeared to be going great, but it would get bizarre indeed when death would come for Duane once again, eerily exactly 1 year later, as per the purported pact. On October 29, 1971, Duane Allman, who was at the time just 24 years old, was riding on his Harley-Davidson Sportster down Hillcrest Avenue in Macon, Georgia, when a freak accident would play out. At the intersection of Hillcrest and Bartlett Avenue, Allman slowed down and maneuvered to let a large flatbed truck carrying a crane boom make a left-hand turn in front of him. ![]()
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