I've got a little space to fill
Welcome back to Conversation from the Crossroads.
I just finished reading Mike Campbell’s book (highly recommended) and have been on a bit of a Petty binge so today’s post is brought to you by the great Tom Petty—“You Don’t Know How It Feels.”
This song really captures the gist of what I’m driving at today—how fortunate I am to be on the receiving end of so much goodness by doing what I’m doing here at Long Live the ABB.
First, an announcement.
Long Live the ABB made the Hot 100!
Yep, Substack just posted their top 100 “Best Sellers in History” and yours truly is sitting at #94 as of today.1
I’m not one for comparison, and I’m unsure how the formula works2, but this is a pretty cool marker considering I had a readership of zero exactly two years ago next month.
I knew when I started this that there were people out there who also craved good conversation about the intersections of Southern music, history, and culture through the lens of the Allman Brothers Band. As of right now, there are more than 4,100 of y’all subscribed, with ~30,000 views a month & growing.
Glad we found each other.
“But let me get to the point…”
Which essentially is about my insatiable collecting habit and my love of photographs and graphic design.
I’ll start with these two gems that appeal to the card collector in me:
🍄 The Duane Allman cigarette card3 comes from Polydor’s The Guitar Album a 1973 compilation released internationally but never in the U.S. I do not own the album, which features some great guitarists, though all over the place stylistically.
The album cover features stacks of cards representing 16 different guitarists—everyone from the 3 Kings to Shugie Otis to John McLaughlin.
Polydor printed the cards separately for DJs and record stores. The cards are super cool. I just bought a full set from a seller in the UK.
I’m intrigued by this set and the design/marketing campaign. I have reached out to the designer4 to learn more. I’ll keep you posted.
🍄 The other is from the 1991 ProSet SuperStars MusiCards. It features what looks like an outtake from the Seven Turns album cover shoot and another image of the 1989 reunion lineup.5 It’s a pretty poorly conceived concept if you ask me. The photos are great but the graphics are hideous. The coolest thing about it is they were included in the first place, and they were card #1.
Here’s the back of each card. I really dig the design of Duane’s.
“I woke up in between a memory and a dream”
One of the coolest things about doing what I do here on Substack and across social media is encountering folks who share their experiences with me. It’s definitely expanded my understanding of the Allman Brothers Band’s enduring influence.
Here’s one example. A train station at Metro North Riverdale, Bronx, NY 1975 (photograph by Alex Winkler).
This is the kind of photograph that wins contests. Really well framed, I love the black & white, gritty feel of it. The graffiti was surely inspired by the roadside memorial in Mississippi I wrote about awhile back.
Macon 1974
And then Dennis Callan sent some shots he took when he made a pilgrimage to Macon in 1974.6
Duane and Berry’s graves before the angels were stolen
Capricorn Studios
I didn’t recognize the logo in the window so I asked Bob Konrad, my friend and Capricorn staffer, about it.
“The wood sign was made by friends of the studio. It was used to identify the building for people ‘in-the-know.’ Capricorn’s trademark logo would’ve been a dead giveaway, so they made this alternative to tell the right people how to find the place. The wood piece was taken down in the 90s and donated to the Big House, who gave it back to us after the studio buildings were restored.”
“Still trying to beat the clock”
Y’all have probably seen this shot before. It’s a well-circulated image by Kathy Hurly from Skidmore College, March 15, 1971.
The gig was a free show paid for by the student activities board. The band made $5000—their going rate—and provided their own P.A.7
Kathy took a bunch of shots that day. Reader Davis Martin forwarded them to me for sharing more widely.
This is one of my favorites of the new ones.
That’s harmonica player Thom “Ace” Doucette behind Gregg. And check out the stenciling and the caricature of Dickey on the amp.8
I’m cooking up something on this gig and the photographs. (Not only Kathy’s, there were at least three other photographers there that day.)
Stay tuned.
Lagniappes
PETTY
💔 Tedeschi Trucks Band “You Don’t Know How It Feels”—Beacon Theatre 2017
💔 Allman Brothers Band “Highway 61 Revisited” with Tom Petty, Mike Campbell, & Benmont Tench May 2009
ABB
🍑 “High Falls” Beacon Theatre March 7, 1998 Jack and Oteil’s first Beacon Run. This is another cut I’ve liberated from my archives. I set it to drone footage of High Falls, slowed down to sync with the music.
🍑 Happy Anniversary to the Allman Brothers Band March 26: Gregg arrives in Jacksonville and completes the lineup. Here’s me telling that story:
“Let's head on down the road. There's somewhere I gotta go.”
Thanks for reading y’all.
Until next time.
This ranks up there with me hitting #1 on Amazon for Play All Night in October 2022, the month of release.
Outside of the top 10 or so, nearly every account I clicked on had fewer subscribers than I. Doesn’t matter, but it’s why I pay little attention to it. Just a fun marker to have.
Assuming both are from the camera of Kirk West, though he’s uncredited.
Apparently spelling was not the artist’s forte.
And before he settled on “Dickey” as the spelling.
Congratulations on being part of the LIST.
Nice piece. I enjoyed it very much, Doc.
😎💙😎
Your piece about Gregg joining up in Jacksonville was fantastic. Even tho they weren't talking, brotherly love wins out and we win because Duane's vision is fulfilled.