The Allman Brothers Band

The Allman Brothers Band signed with Phil Walden and Capricorn Records in 1969 and moved to Macon, Georgia. Initially, the band lived communally in a local apartment nicknamed the "Hippie Crash Pad" and then moved to a farmhouse outside of town they called "Idlewild South." The musicians rehearsed constantly, hung out in Rose Hill Cemetery for songwriting inspiration and when not touring, performed locally at spots like Grant's Lounge, The Library Ballroom and Central City Park.

Trying to get their start and having little money, band members would often eat at H&H Soul Food where their friend, Mama Louise would feed them. Whenever a road trip would end, the band would head to H&H for some Southern home cooking from their second mama. This friendship took Mama Louise on quite a ride that included a seat on the tour bus. Mama Louise & co-founder, Mama Inez Hill, have since passed, but you can stop by and eat at H&H Soul Food still today where the legacy (and the original recipes) still live on.

In early 1970, Berry Oakley's wife, Lynda, rented a large Tudor Revival home on 2321 Vineville for the band, which they began to refer to as "The Big House." That summer, ABB played the Second Atlanta Pop Festival in Byron, Georgia. Held in a soybean field across from the Middle Georgia Raceway, it brought in hundreds of thousands of people and featured headliners like Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King. ABB opened and closed the three-day festival. Their breakthrough album, At Fillmore East (1971), is considered one of the best live albums ever made ranking #49 on Rolling Stone’s list of Best Albums of All Time.

Shortly after At Fillmore East was certified gold, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of 24 followed by Berry Oakley one year later also at the age of 24. Duane and Berry are buried side-by-side at Macon's Rose Hill Cemetery. Despite two significant losses, the band gained even greater success in 1972 with the release of the LP Eat a Peach reaching #4 on the charts.

Riding off the success of Eat a Peach, ABB earned their first #1 album titled Brothers and Sisters in 1973. The young boy seen on the cover of this album is Vaylor Trucks, son of drummer Butch Trucks with the back cover featuring Brittany Oakley, daughter of Berry Oakley.

Members of ABB lived at the Big House through 1973. In 2009, The Allman Brothers Band Museum at The Big House opened in the location. Since then, tens of thousands of fans from around the world have walked under the stained glass mushroom to explore the largest collection of ABB memorabilia in the world including Duane’s Gibson Les Paul Gold Top (featured on Eric Clapton’s Layla), Gregg and Cher’s pool table, a recreation of Duane’s bedroom, and more.

The band broke up and got back together several times over the decades. Music greats like Chuck Leavell, Derek Trucks, Warren Haynes, Allen Woody and others contributed to the group. While ABB played its final show at the Beacon Theatre in New York City in 2014, the music and legacy ensure that road does, indeed, go on forever.

In addition to H&H Restaurant and the Big House, a pilgrimage to Macon should include stops at Capricorn Sound Studios and Museum and Gallery West. Kirk West, a nationally known music photographer, spent nearly 20 years tour managing ABB and taking photos. Historic Rose Hill Cemetery is the final resting place of bandmates Gregg Allman, Duane Allman, Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks. Dickey Betts passed away recently on April 18, 2024. Jaimoe is the only surviving original ABB member.