Duane Allman delivered many improv’d guitar solos for the Allman Brothers Band before his death in 1971. Before he helped form his namesake band, he played as a session musician for the likes of King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Mann, Wilson Pickett, and Boz Scaggs.
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His musical contributions have been heard the world over, but do you know what Allman had to say outside of the studio? Find 15 of his best quotes, below.
1. There’s a lot of different forms of communication, but music is absolutely the purest one.
2. “Develop your talent, man, and leave the world something. Records are really gifts from people. To think that an artist would love you enough to share his music with anyone is a beautiful thing.”
3. “One thing I can say about our band is this. If you got something good to lay on us, enlighten us, but if you got something bad to lay on us, you can get your teeth knocked clean down your throat man.”
4. “I think the best music comes from the heart and soul, not from the brain.”
5. “I don’t try to be a guitar hero. I just want to play the best that I can, and if people like it, it makes me feel good.”
6. There ain’t no revolution, only evolution, but every time I’m in Georgia I eat a peach for peace.
7. “If you can feel it, you can play it.”
8. “You owe it to yourself to express yourself and not someone else.”
9. “You can’t think your way through a solo, you have to feel it.”
10. “The right note at the right time is worth its weight in gold.”
11. “I love the Dead. As far as Jerry Garcia, Jerry Garcia could walk on water. He could do anything any man could ever do. He’s a prince.”
12. “I will take love wherever I find it and offer it to everyone who will take it.., seek knowledge from those wiser than me and try to teach those who wish to learn from me.”
13. “Rock was born in the South, so saying ‘Southern rock’ is like saying ‘rock rock.'”
14. “It’s a drag not to have your own plane, man. That way, you could go where you wanna go when you wanna go.”
15. “I’m a musician, and I play music for the people. I don’t care what kind of people they are, I just want to get the message across.”
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
