7 lessons from Gregg Allman’s Biography
I will start by saying this is not the book you read to your child before they go to bed, or to any one for that matter. It is filled with intensely detailed stories from a man who truly lived the life of what all us normal people like to call “rock stars”. Complete with all the sex and drugs and illegal activity that you always imagined these kinds of guys were into to.
But as crazy as this books gets, it is chalk full of lessons. This man was knocked down over and over and over again and he keep getting back up and fighting for his music and many times for his life. In the end he overcomes his biggest demon and lives to tell about it. He beats addiction and has some great things to say about his regrets and what he would do if he had the chance to do it all again.
Lesson 1 (Page112) – If you got something, write it down ASAP!
Gregg’s story of how he wrote “Whipping Post” is awesome. I won’t spoil it, but let’s just say when the tune hit him; he did what he had to do to get it down on something. It’s my second favorite Allman Bro’s jam and many times I have felt the way he felt when he wrote. “I’ve been run down, and I’ve been lied to….”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6up076lSH8&feature=player_embedded#t=0s
Lesson 2 (first several chapters) – Practice makes perfect.
If there is anything I got out of this book it’s this. These suckers played music all the freakin time! It was constant in the lives of Duane and Gregg. From the moment they picked up guitars it became their obsession and it sounds like every waking spare minute they had, they were picking and grinning. And when they needed to learn something new, be it the keys, song writing or slide guitar they attacked those things with the same passion. They had an incredible drive to master their crafts.
Lesson 3 (Page 256) – The truth always prevails.
I have learned this lesson many times…. some for the good and some for the bad. In the chapter about his life with Cher (wife 3 of 6) after she had found his rig (needles and supplies for shooting up) Gregg says, “In a way, I was glad it came out, because I’m a lousy liar and to live with a lie is totally impossible for me. When she found my rig, she just got in her Ferrari and took off.”
Lessons 4-7 coming soon….
