Anyway Duane and I were friends when we were 5, 6, 7 & 8 years old. We were in the first, second and third grade together... here are class pictures from those years:
First grade (Duane is the 4th little boy from the left and I'm the 5th boy sitting on the ground):
Here is our second grade picture (Duane is the 3rd boy from the left sitting on the ground... I am the 3rd boy from the right standing in the back row):
This is our 3rd grade picture (Duane is the 3rd boy from the left sitting on the ground... I am the first boy standing on the right):
This is the back of that photo where we all signed our names:
In the 4th grade, Duane and his younger brother Gregg were sent to Castle Heights Military Academy in Lebanon, Tennessee. Their Daddy had been killed by a hitch-hiker in Norfolk, Virginia and their Mama felt like they needed to have some male influence in their lives so she sent them away to military school. I only saw Duane a few times after they went away to school but I remember one day when he was home he showed me his Castle Heights uniform. Here is a picture I found on the Allman Brothers' web site of them in their uniforms (the Allman Brothers' Band is to this day an active and successful Southern rock group):
My dear Mama (your Great Grandmama, 1920 - 2006) was very proud of having had both Duane and Gregg in her Cub Scout den. The reason for her pride was that the Allman brothers went on to become famous Southern Rock & Roll musicians in a band that Duane started call the Allman Brothers' Band. Sadly, Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident on October 29, 1971 in Macon, Georgia... he was only 25 years old (remember my family lived in Macon, Georgia for 6 years after we moved from Nashville. Unbelievably, although I hadn't seen Duane since the mid-50s, I was in visiting in Macon the week Duane was killed... but I'll tell you that story in another post).Here is a picture of Duane before his death:
In 2003, Rolling Stone magazine named Duane as number two on their list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time. Here is an anthology of his short career with him playing in the background:Duane had firey red hair. Mama used to always say how clean and well-groomed Mrs. Allman kept both her little boys. I remember us having lots of fun playing in the neighborhood and across the street on the playground at Palmer School. I never saw Duane again after we moved to Macon in 1957.
I love you, Ethan!
Granddaddy
PS. Call me sometime: 931-598-9160
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