See Gregg Allman’s Hauntingly Beautiful “My Only True Friend”
Music Legend’s Video Is a Bittersweet Farewell
I don’t think Gregg Allman intended to record his farewell the day he
stepped into the historic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to
record “My Only True Friend.”
But in a bittersweet way, he inadvertently did.
The haunting track is a weary, soulful ode to life on the road and
the toll it takes on love. This is a life Allman defined and an
undercurrent of so much of his brilliant work throughout his career.
It’s blues-rock love song for the ages and a story that can come only
from the storyteller who lived it.
It’s quintessentially Allman in every way imaginable. The worn-in
effortless soul, the driving blues guitar at the outtro and the
perfectly placed horns that pepper the arrangement all hearken back to
his 1973 solo debut Laid Back.
And there’s his voice, still so full of life and magic — that distinctive, weathered rasp is completely uncompromised by time.
Which is why it’s heartbreaking to hear these words now, three months
after his death. Lyrics like, “I can’t bear to think that this might be
the end” and “I hope you’re haunted by the music of my soul when I’m
gone” already carried such a sense of foreshadowing within the context
of the story. In in the present tense, it seems to ring true for his own
life.
And in that way, those words are oddly comforting to those of us left
behind still grieving the loss of one of the greatest singers,
songwriters and musicians who ever lived. We will always be haunted by
the music of Allman’s soul in a wonderful way that will keep his legacy
alive for generations to come.
Produced by the Don Was and recorded with Allman’s touring band, “My Only True Friend” is featured Allman’s final album, Southern Blood, set for release Sept. 8.
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