[msb-alumni] Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks dies at 69; cause unknown
- From: Steve <pipeguy920@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <msb-alumni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 28 Jan 2017 13:37:18 -0500
BlankAllman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks dies; cause unknown Mark Hinson,
Tallahassee Democrat
A driving beat has been silenced. The Allman Brothers Band drummer and founding
member'Butch Trucks died on Tuesday. He was 69. The cause of his death remains
unclear.
After Trucks joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1969, the group went on to
change the landscape of rock music in the '70s by stirring soulful blues, raw
country and jazz into a heady mix. A string of classic albums quickly followed:
"Idlewild South," "At Filmore East," "Eat A Peach," "Brothers and Sisters" and
more.
Signature Allman songs such as "Ramblin' Man," "Midnight Rider," "Melissa,"
"Blue Sky" and "Whipping Post" became staples on FM radio stations.
The Allman Brothers' unmistakable sound stood out thanks to Duane Allman's
slide-guitar prowess, Dickey Betts' melodic guitar lines, Gregg Allman's gruff
vocals and a dueling drum attack led by Trucks
and fellow drummer Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson.
When asked why the group doubled down on percussionists, Johanson explained,
"Because James Brown had two drummers. Because Otis Redding's band had two
drummers. That's what Duane wanted. ... I've never seen anybody play the way
Butch and I play. If Otis had lived, he would have recorded with The Allman
Brothers."
Clyde Hudson 'Butch' Trucks grew up in Jacksonville, Florida graduated high
school with honors
in 1965 and headed off to Florida State University, where he spent more time
playing gigs at FSU frat parties with his band The Bitter End than he did in
the
classroom.
"I was thinking of joining a fraternity because I was only 19 years old,"
Trucks
told the Tallahassee (Florida) Democrat in 2016. "But I saw some things at
those
frats -- people dressed in diapers and other weird stuff like that -- and
thought, "Man, this is pretty bizarre. The frat life is not for me."
Butch Trucks, right, and Melina Trucks arrive at the 54th annual GRAMMY Awards
on Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo: Chris Pizzello, AP)
After his grade-point average dipped below a 1.0, the college kindly asked him
not to return.
The timing was fortunate, though, because The Allman Brothers Band was taking
shape and rock stardom was looming around the corner.
During the '70s, Trucks and his bandmates lived a fast, decadent lifestyle.
During a talk at FSU in 2015, Trucks told a story how record company executives
welcomed them aboard a plane by spelling out the band's name in a pile of
cocaine on a glass-top bar.
"I think back on the first few years of the band, when Duane was still alive,
and it floors me to think of the amount of
living packed into that time," Trucks told the Tallahassee Democrat in 2005.
"Every single day was an epic," Trucks said in '05. "The band I'm in now, we've
been together for 16 years and we've done a lot to re-establish what Duane
started and we got away from after he died (in a 1971 motorcycle accident). ...
With Duane, the focus was the music. And this band is back on track with that.
We take it to new places every single night. After 36 years, playing music
still
doesn't suck. I'm absolutely having a ball."
In 1976, after The Allman Brothers Band broke up for the first time, Trucks and
his wife returned to Tallahassee to raise their son, Vaylor, and daughter,
Melody. Trucks gave FSU another try. This time around, he made straight A's in
school, save for
one course. Ironically, it was a percussion class for timpani.
In the '80s, Trucks financed and opened a state-of-the-art recording studio
called Pegasus in Midway, Florida, just off Interstate 10. Pegasus never took
flight and it'soon closed. The studio is now part of the FSU film school.
Although Trucks was outspoken and confrontational, especially when it came to
arguing politics, he was a kindly mentor to younger musicians. Four years ago,
he helped found the Roots Rock Revival Camp near Woodstock, N.Y., along with
Luther and Cody Dickinson from the North Mississippi Allstars.
Trucks divided his time between homes in South Florida and the South of France.
He is also survived by his musical nephews, guitarist Derek and drummer Duane
Trucks, who play with the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Widespread Panic,
respectively.
Other related posts:
- » [msb-alumni] Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks dies at 69; cause unknown - Steve
