A Decade Of Hits 1969-1979 CD

More than 30 years after The Allman Brothers Band came together, there is still no other band like it. Pioneers of Southern Rock, The Allman Brothers Band is an indispensable icon of American music, and in 1995 the group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Now, all of its greatest and most popular songs have been collected on The Allman Brothers Band: Decade Of Hits (Polydor/UME), released April 18, 2000. Previously released in 1990, this popular title has been remastered using the latest technology. With 16 of the finest examples of the group’s progressive blend of rock ‘n’ roll, blues, jazz, R&B, country and gospel, from the hard driving jam “Whipping Post” and the jazz influenced “Dreams” (both from its self-titled debut) to the rollicking “Jessica,” its biggest hit “Ramblin’ Man” and the Southern Rock standards “Melissa” and “Midnight Rider,” Decade Of Hits spans the group’s heyday from 1969 to 1979, each song digitally remastered.

Brothers Gregg (vocals, keyboards) and Duane Allman (guitar), Dickey Betts (guitar, vocals), Berry Oakley (bass), and Butch Trucks and Jai Johanny Johanson (drums) formed the band in Jacksonville, Florida, before moving to Macon, Georgia. After The Allman Brothers Band, 1970’s Idlewild South appeared with “Revival,” “Midnight Rider” and “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.”

A mix of triumph and tragedy then took hold. In the wake of the 1971 double album Live At Fillmore East, with “Statesboro Blues,” Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident. Then 1972’s Eat A Peach, also a double album, with “Melissa,” “Ain’t Wastin’ Time No More,” “Little Martha,” “Blue Sky” and “One Way Out” went Top 10--and Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash. The band’s next album, 1973’s Brothers And Sisters, spawned its biggest hit when “Ramblin’ Man” hit #2 pop and the album, which also featured “Jessica,” “Southbound” and “Wasted Words,” went to #1.