Gregg Allman

Singer and musician Gregg Allman led the legendary blues-rock act the Allman Brothers Band for over four decades, during which he helped to create not only the Southern rock and jam band subgenre, but earned a place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the strength of such soulful compositions as "Whipping Post" and "Midnight Rider." Allman and his brother, guitarist Duane Allman, forged the group in the late 1960s as a bridge between the blues and soul music they loved as children and the heavier, electrified sounds of rock-n-roll. The result was one of the most formidable bands on the scene, capable of stretching songs into rolling, hour-plus-long workouts and concerts into half-day events. The death of Duane Allman and an unfocused period in the 1970s plagued by drugs, bad decisions and rather scandalous union with Cher took Allman out of the spotlight for nearly two decades. By the end of the 1990s, however, the band had revived their profile and reformed to reclaim a whole new audience that had been raised on their music. Allman himself remained the group's patriarch, ever mindful of his brother's contributions of the band, while pushing them to remain relevant in the current market through his shrewd choice of new members, including Gov't Mule's Warren Haynes. As both an artist and a keeper of the Allman Brothers Band flame, Gregg Allman remained one of the few '60s-era performers to preserve his popularity into the 21st century and beyond. His death at the age of 69 on May 27, 2017, following a years-long struggle with Hepatitis C, was met with sorrow from generations of fans and friends around the world.