Gregg Allman has died at age 69. Just a few weeks after rumors that the Allman Brothers Band legend was in hospice after several years of medical issues, the singer passed away at his home in Savannah Georgia at age 69, according to a statement on the band’s official website and Facebook page.

While Allman battled liver cancer and other health issues, he continued to perform as long as he could. The statement said Gregg's music “lifted him up and kept him going during the toughest of times."

Reaction from Allman’s longtime bandmate

Gregg’s Allman Brothers bandmate, Dickey Betts said he was still unable to process the death of his longtime musical collaborator.

According to Rolling Stone, Betts said he was grateful to have been able to “have a couple good talks” with Gregg shortly before he passed away.

Gregg Allman was born December 8, 1947, in Nashville. Music was in his blood early on. According to Rolling Stone, as a child, Gregg saved up the money that he earned from a newspaper route to purchase a guitar that his older brother, Duane, soon mastered. After playing in a variety of rock bands, the brothers later formed the band the Allman Joys. In 1969, Gregg and Duane joined guitarist Dickey Betts, bass player Berry Oakley, drummer Butch Trucks and drummer Jai Johnny "Jaimoe" Johanson for the initial incarnation of The Allman Brothers Band in Jacksonville, Florida.

Founding fathers of Southern Rock

The Allman Brothers’ breakthrough album came in 1971 with the live recording “At Fillmore East,” which included extended jam sessions on songs like “Whipping Post” and “Stormy Monday.” The live album was followed up by the commercially successful 1972 album “Eat a Peach.” Which spawned the radio staples “Melissa” and “Blue Sky.” Sadly, Duane Allman and Berry Oakley died in tragic motorcycle accidents during this era, at the onset of the band’s commercial success.

The Allman Brothers Band had a variety of personnel changes over the years. Gregg and the band were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. In 2014, The Allman Brothers band performed their final concerts as a group. Gregg Allman continued on with a solo career until his death.

Bob Seger credited Allman and his band for establishing Southern rock as a musical genre.

“Gregg was one of my favorite rock singers of all time,” Seger wrote. “So sad, we’ve lost another music titan.”

Many other musicians of all genres reacted to the death of Gregg Allman, including Peter Frampton, Ringo Starr, and, most poignantly, Allman’s ex-wife, Cher.
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