What a bummer, Gregg Allman died

The original Allman Brothers Band rocked. With Gregg on keyboards and Duane on slide, southern rock never sounded so good. To yours truly, they, and the Dead, were the best jam bands of all time.

The question "Can white men sing the blues?" has been debated for decades, especially once earnest white kids began taking a crack at the music in the 1960s. But in the case of Gregg Allman, no one ever raised the question. It wasn't simply a matter of his husky, often pained voice and the genuine sense of despair, desperation and boastfulness conveyed by it.

Southern rock pioneer fused country blues with San Francisco-style extended improvisation, creating a template for countless jam bands to come. It was also a reflection of the tragedy that haunted Allman's life, from the murder of his father when Gregg was two years old to the motorcycle accidents that took the lives of his brother Duane and Allman Brothers Band member Berry Oakley a year apart in the 1970s.

Here's yet another.

R.I.P