The music world said goodbye to a guitar playing icon last week with the passing of Allman Brothers legendary guitarist, songwriter and singer, Dickey Betts.
With flavors of country, blues, jazz and rock, the Allman Brothers crafted a stellar southern rock sound that was all their own, paving the way for modern day southern rock outfits like Blackberry Smoke, Whiskey Myers, Them Dirty Roses, Marcus King and more. With songs like “Ramblin’ Man,” “Midnight Rider,” and “Whipping Post,” their catalog is deep, it’s impressive, and it will live on forever in the countless other artists it has inspired.
Like the great Chris Stapleton.
Back in 2015, Skyville Live hosted an all-star tribute to the great Gregg Allman with an intimate concert featuring Chris Stapleton, Little Big Town, blues artist Taj Mahal, and of course, Gregg himself. Little Big Town joined Allman for a performance of “Midnight Rider,” but arguably Chris Stapleton stole the night with an Earth-shattering performance of “Whipping Post.”
Everybody knows Chris has the best damn voice in country music, but I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen him rip this hard. Chris’ fire-breathing vocals, combined with some fantastic guitar shredding, and I’m pretty sure that stage is still smoking… they burned the place down.
Chris and company earned a standing ovation from the crowd, including Gregg Allman himself.
Written by Gregg Allman, the studio version from their 1969 debut album The Allman Brothers Band clocks in over 5 minutes, but the song became a staple of the live show, often times eclipsing the 10-minute mark.
On the Allman Brothers’ 1971 double live album At Fillmore East, a 23-minute rendition of the song takes up the entire final side of the record.
And the original, live from the Filmore:
