![Gregg Allman Passes Away at 69 gregg-allman-progenitor-southern-rock](https://api.time.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/gregg-allman-progenitor-southern-rock.jpg?quality=85&w=2400)
As a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg Allman synthesized blues, jazz, country and soul with the expansive groove of a jam band, ushering in the genre that came to be known as Southern rock. With his brother Duane, Allman formed the racially integrated group in Florida in 1969–a powerful statement at a time when segregation remained in practice if not the law. Anchored by Allman’s rhythmic keyboards and whiskey-tinged voice, the band found some success on radio, but its reputation was forged through a barnstorming tour schedule and epic live concerts.
Allman kept it up for more than four decades, through all manner of grief, addiction and illness, until his death on May 27, at his home in Savannah, Ga. He was 69. While a prolific career will ensure his legacy, Allman may be best remembered for his soulful, growling voice, which Sheryl Crow once said “sounded like he’d already lived a thousand lifetimes.”
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Welcome to the Noah Lyles Olympics
- Melinda French Gates Is Going It Alone
- What to Do if You Can’t Afford Your Medications
- How to Buy Groceries Without Breaking the Bank
- Sienna Miller Is the Reason to Watch Horizon
- Why So Many Bitcoin Mining Companies Are Pivoting to AI
- The 15 Best Movies to Watch on a Plane
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time
Contact us at [email protected]