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Gregg Allman's 70th Bday Celebrated With New Video Out Now
By: Emily Bruno Dec. 08, 2017
To celebrate what would have been Gregg Allman's 70th birthday today, Rounder Records is excited to announce the release of the new official music video for "Song for Adam," from the legendary rocker's Grammy-nominated final album, SOUTHERN BLOOD. The beautifully shot clip was directed by Erica Alexandria Silverman and stars Zach Chance (Jamestown Revival), Yates Robertson, Zoe Graham, and Johnny McPhail. It was filmed entirely in Texas (Taylor, Austin, South Padre Island and McAllen. Rolling Stone premiered the video earlier today.
The deeply emotional "Song For Adam" was written and features background vocals by longtime Allman friend Jackson Browne. So moved by the last verse of the song as it reminded him of his brother Duane, Gregg's voice broke to the point where he was unable to finish it. He left the studio that day saying he'd come back to re-cut it another time. Unfortunately, that day never came and producer Don Was decided to put the song on the album unfinished. It's the final track on SOUTHERN BLOOD, and ends the already powerful proceedings on a very poignant and human note.
SOUTHERN BLOOD has been honored with two prestigious nominations for the upcoming 60thAnnual GRAMMY® Awards. The acclaimed album garnered a nod in the "Best Americana Album" category, while its lead single, "My Only True Friend," co-written by Allman and Gregg Allman Band guitarist/musical director Scott Sharrard, received a nomination as "Best American Roots Song." Allman has been nominated for his solo work before, but had never won the honor in his lifetime.
Just named among Rolling Stone's "Top 50 Albums of 2017," SOUTHERN BLOOD made a spectacular chart debut upon its arrival earlier this year, entering the SoundScan/Billboard 200 at #11 after its first week of release. In addition, the album arrived at #2 on Billboard's "Americana/Folk Albums," #3 on "Rock Albums," and #5 on "Top Current Albums." The album hit #1 at Americana Radio and Top 15 Non-Comm radio.
SOUTHERN BLOOD now stands tall among the most acclaimed releases of Allman's brilliant career, with Rolling Stone hailing it as "a moving farewell statement à la twilight masterworks by Leonard Cohen and David Bowie...While SOUTHERN BLOOD is rich with intimations of mortality, it's easygoing too, with a laid-back generosity that recalls Allman's kindest Seventies work." "Even without the obvious gravitas hovering over the project, this is an exceptional work and arguably Allman's finest non-Brothers release," declared American Songwriter. "[SOUTHERN BLOOD] caps a remarkable career in a typically classy and thoroughly refined, unflinchingly personal, fashion." "A fine collection of songs sung by a truly great singer," applauded Exclaim. "Unlike many rockers of a certain age, Allman's voice never faded, and while he may not have been belting these songs out with the usual raw power, his singing is as sweet and soulful as ever." "SOUTHERN BLOOD is the kind of farewell every rock 'n' lifer hopes to make," wrote NPR Music. "But when the fateful hour arrives, few are blessed with both the time and the touch to pull it off." "It's Allman's composition, 'My Only True Friend.' that stands as this album's greatest monument," declared USA Today, further noting "Allman's voice delivers in peak form. If this were the debut of a new singer on the rise, critics would laud his control of nuance, his expressiveness and ability to get inside a lyric. They'd also note the more immeasurable qualities of raw soul and genuine passion." The Independent praised SOUTHERN BLOOD for mining Allman's "weatherbeaten growl for every ounce of melancholy retrospection and road-weary resignation," while Newsweek extolled the album as "spirited, often moving and rooted in the soulful, unmistakably Southern blues-rock fusion that had been his life's work since the twilight of the 1960s."
"Farewell albums from musicians who know they are dying have become a thing of late," wrote the Associated Press. "And Allman's just might be the best of them. [SOUTHERN BLOOD] veers deeply into parting sentiment, but it also reminds us of what a singular talent we just lost when he died in May." SOUTHERN BLOOD is "a record that celebrates an oft-overlooked musician with elegance and style," raved Classic Rock. "It's not often anyone has the (albeit heartbreaking) luxury of being able to map out their own memorial, and Allman leaves us with his head held high and a record of rare beauty."
"Despite its dark subtext, the album isn't mournful in the least," wrote The Daily Beast. "True to its title and cover art (a bridge running through a lush thicket of Spanish moss in Allman's native Savannah), the immaculately produced SOUTHERN BLOOD bursts with rejoiceful soul, gospel, and blues." SOUTHERN BLOOD "has a lean, bluesy persistence," declared New York Newsday. "(Allman's) famously gnarled vocals fit beautifully with a sympathetic band and gospel harmonies on Little Feat's 'Willin'' and his own 'My Only True Friend.'" "An excellent record on its own terms," wrote Glide, "[SOUTHERN BLOOD] also compares favorably to (Allman's) famous solo debut, LAID BACK, making the final work of this iconic artist all the more memorable."
SOUTHERN BLOOD serves as a remarkable final testament from an artist who never shied away from baring his trials and troubles, happiness and heartbreak, to the world through music. Allman's first all-new recording since 2011's GRAMMY® Award-nominated solo landmark, LOW COUNTRY BLUES, the album is among the most uniquely personal of the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer's career, an emotionally expansive collection of songs written by friends and favorite artists including Jackson Browne, Lowell George, Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter, Spooner Oldham & Dan Penn, and Willie Dixon meant to serve as a salutary farewell to his legion of devoted fans and admirers. Allman was assisted in his closing project by manager Michael Lehman and GRAMMY® Award-winning producer Don Was, a longtime acquaintance and staunch supporter committed to helping the rock icon actualize his very specific aspirations.
Rich with emotional texture, historical connectivity, and purity of performance, SOUTHERN BLOOD would be a landmark Gregg Allman record under any circumstance, its powerful subject matter and passionate presentation as emblematic an expression of his distinctive art as any prior work in the Allman canon. Though his loss leaves a vast musical space that can never truly be filled, SOUTHERN BLOOD stands tall as an extraordinary valedictory and memorial to a true giant of American music, now and forever.
SOUTHERN BLOOD is available now at all digital music retailers and streaming services as well the Gregg Allman Official Store. A wide array of limited editions and special bundles are on offer, including digital download, Standard and Deluxe CD, and limited edition heavyweight vinyl and vinyl test presses. For complete details, please visit the Gregg Allman Official Store.
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