Gregg Allman Opens up About His Brother’s Death in Trailer for Forthcoming Doc: “I Was Angry at God for Taking Him”

Gregg Allman is getting candid about a hard time in his life. In a trailer for Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, The Allman Brothers Band frontman speaks about his brother, Duane Allman’s, 1971 death.

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In the trailer, which features archival footage from the ’70s, Gregg says of his brother, “I was mad at him for dying. I was mad at life. You never know how much you’re leaning on someone until they die.”

In a more recent interview, which was filmed prior to Gregg’s 2017 death, he said of the tragedy, “My brother passed away, and it started raining money. I was angry at God for taking him.”

Duane’s death won’t be the only topic explored in the documentary. According to its log line, the film traces Gregg’s “journey from a childhood scarred by his father’s murder to the heart of a generation-defining sound with the Allman Brothers Band.”

It will also provide insight into how Gregg’s “music, his headline-making marriage to Cher, and his restless pursuit of authenticity affirmed him not just as a rock legend, but as a lasting cultural force.”

Director of Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul Speaks Out

James Keach, who directed the film, spoke out about the project in a statement to Rolling Stone.

“Gregg’s story totally resonated with me,” Keach said, before explaining why he wanted explore how early tragedies shaped Allman’s life in the film.

“Not everyone works this way, but I believe that understanding trauma from the formative years of a person’s life is central when telling their story in a documentary,” he said. “A lot of incredible artists have these shattering experiences in their past that inform every aspect of their lives and talent.”

In Keach’s mind, “Gregg had those demons inside his amazingly creative brain.”

“He dove deep into his addiction when Duane died, but later in life, when he was sober, he faced his own mortality with dignity and acceptance,” the director said. “It’s personally important to me to carry Gregg’s message of trying to change the trajectory of people consumed by addiction. You can hear the ache in his voice in his brilliant music.”

Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul will premiere June 9 in New York City, before opening nationwide on June 17.

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