The Doomed Genius Of Southern Rock
Dwayne Alman’s death in a high-speed motorbike crash was even worse than people realize in her tragic Memoir his daughter revealed that his doctors that day made an unforgivable mistake. A musical Powerhouse the Almond Brothers greatest Triumph came just before their most heartwrenching tragedy the death of Dwayne Alman one of the greatest guitar players of all time. He was born in 1946 in Nashville Tennessee the almost mythical musical Kingdom in America’s South his brother Greg was born 13 months later but the family would soon be on the Move due to their father’s military service ending up in Norfolk Virginia it’s here where the family’s first tragedy would strike. On the evening of the 26th of December 1949 Dwayne’s father Lieutenant Willis Alman and his friend Robert Buchanan struck up a conversation with a hitchhiker after a night of drinking they agreed to give the man a ride home.
They were directed to a farm where the man robbed them at gunpoint in the ensuing Malay Dwayne’s father was shot and killed. The family now fatherless would have to figure out how to make ends meet Wayne’s mother Geraldine decided to train as an accountant and no longer able to play housewife sent her children off to a military academy in Tennessee. But the boys weren’t destined to follow in their Father’s Footsteps they hated every minute there in 1957 the family moved to Daytona Beach in Florida where the boys attended high school every summer the two brothers would return to Nashville to visit their grandmother and it was here that they would take their crucial first step on the way to their musical careers. Their grandmother’s neighbor started teaching Greg how to play guitar and in 1960 he saved enough money to buy a tysco silver tone a Japanese made guitar Dwayne on the other hand decided a Harley 165 motorcycle was more his style but like a lot of siblings he wanted to have his cake and eat it.
Despite being a lefty Dwayne started hogging his brother’s right-handed guitar but his Harley wasn’t long for this world in a chilling precursor of tragedy to come Dwayne soon crashed his bike the wreckage was still good enough to sell giving him the money to buy a silver tone all of his own and he would quickly become the better guitarist of the two brothers. The brothers joined or formed their own bands around Daytona as they took to the stage for the first time just one taste and they were hooked. Dwayne’s enthusiasm apparently knew no bounds as he dropped out of school to focus on music in 1965 Dwayne’s band The escorts opened for the Beach Boys but this early success couldn’t stop the band from eventually breaking up. The good news was that his brother had graduated and together with some members of the escorts they formed a new band the Almond Joys. Playing one gig after another the Almond Joys made their way through the southeastern states and returned to their hometown of Nashville to set up base where they changed their name to hourglass.
Dwayne went missing for 3 days then burst into their hotel room to announce that he’d driven to Daytona to propose to his girlfriend Patty chandley then to South Carolina to get married Dwayne Alman was living like there was no tomorrow. As a friend of his said years later he wasn’t much of a family type of man so the marriage was likely doomed from the start though they did have one daughter together. Meanwhile the band hit the road and made their way to the bright lights of Los Angeles where they succeeded in signing a contract with Liberty records and recording two albums. But the brother’s vision for their band differed from that of the label Liberty was trying to sell them as a pop band but the boys saw themselves as a blues outfit and they just couldn’t bend to fit the record company’s ideas the deal fell apart and suddenly it was all over for hourglass. The brothers returned to Florida and recorded some demos with a folk rock band called the 31st of February whose drummer was B trucks no one knew it yet but the Almond Brothers band was already taking shape.
Weeks later the new Almond Brothers Band featuring Bo trucks on drums was on the road heading to New York with hopes higher than ever. The band played lots of live gigs and recorded their first album the Almond Brothers Band it came out in November 1969 but failed to hit the charts. Disappointed the group went back to the drawing board it was no surprise that Dwayne’s marriage was over pretty quickly and he met his next love interest at a tour stop in St Louis. Her name was Donna rusman and she’d be another of Dwayne’s girlfriends with history quickly repeating itself the couple had a child together another daughter named Galadriel. Life on the road brought Dwayne into a world of sin and he Dove right in by 1970 he’d already ODed on opium once after a show but he wasn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Dwayne and the band performed an astonishing 300 gigs while on tour in 1970 alone along the way they squeezed in recording sessions for their second album. In May 1970 the band moved into the big house in Mak Georgia along with various family members and Friends. Dwayne would eventually boot his girlfriend Donna out of the big house along with their young daughter his latest love was Dixie Lee Meadows and she seemed to spark something inside him. The only song he ever wrote on his own was Little Martha and he wrote it for Dixie the band was on the road so much they rarely had a chance to see the big house.
Fame and Fortune still eluding them released in August 1970 their second album Idle Wild South managed to sneak into the Billboard charts but progress seemed slow then a famous musician made an offer and Dwayne would have to make a difficult choice. The Almond Brothers band played a Miami concert the same month their second album came out and Eric Clapton and his bandmates were in the audience. Clapton was in town recording his band’s latest album and he was impressed with Dwayne. After they got to know each other backstage Dwayne joined in the recording sessions for the Domino’s album Leela and other assorted love songs. Critics and fans think Dwayne’s work on that album was some of his best playing Clapton was clearly enthralled so he offered his musical brother a permanent role in his band. Dwayne clearly enjoyed playing with Clapton and his group he even appeared on stage with them at least twice but he never toured with them and he never joined the band as a member. Instead Dwayne was faithful to his band but kept up his work as a session musician on the side. His cover of he Jude with Wilson picket even hit the charts so it was no surprise when he headed to New York to work with ARA Franklin it was there that a prophecy was made. When he got to New York in early 1969 Dwayne went to famed Manhattan Rock venue the Filmore East. Johnny Winter was playing and it was then that Dwayne turned to a friend and vowed that within a year he’d be on that very same stage. By the end of the year the Almond Brothers band was on that very same stage but as impressive as that achievement was the name Filmore East would make for an even bigger triumph.
Unrelenting live performers that they were the band decided that their third album should feature them live in concert so for three nights in March 1971 they performed at the Filmore East. But beyond the sense of satisfaction was a burning question would ditching the studio and embracing the rawness of live performance finally make this new album a hit? The band had put in long hard hours to get their music heard playing countless free concerts in their formative years now they hoped the relentless touring would finally pay off. Live at the Filmore East proceeded to chart for weeks on end helped by Dwayne’s slide guitar playing using a technique he discovered by accident thanks to his brother. Statesboro Blues was the first track Dwayne ever played with his famous slide guitar technique but without two birthday gifts from his brother a record and a bottle of pills Dwayne might never have made the leap. In 1968 Dwayne fell off a horse and injured his left elbow an accident he apparently blamed on Greg. Subsequently on Dwayne’s birthday the younger brother dropped off a Taj Mahal album and a bottle of antihistamines rang the doorbell and made a hasty retreat assuming his brother was still mad at him.
A couple of hours later he received a phone call from Dwayne telling him to come over right away upon arriving Greg saw that his brother had dumped the pills out washed off the label and was using the empty bottle to play the guitar strings he was sliding along to Statesboro Blues on the Taj Mahal album it became a hallmark of the band’s sound. Dwayne was clearly a huge driving force behind the success of the band but the rock and roll life didn’t exactly encourage restraint he kept on living big. Even though teenage Dwayne had traded in a wrecked motorbike for his first guitar he’d never really lost his need for speed. In the autumn of the band’s biggest triumph tragedy was about to strike but it all started pleasantly enough. Rolling Stone reported that the group had been enjoying their first real vacation in more than 2 years when Dwayne left a party held at the band’s big house in Min. Linda Oakley the wife of basis Barry Oakley was celebrating her birthday. Dwayne rode away from the party at 5:45 p.m. saying goodbye to the big house for the last time.
It was October 29th 1971 a day etched in music history after leaving the party Dwayne would shortly be racing down Hillcrest Avenue in the western part of this quaint Georgia city. Soon a flatbed truck was clearly in view ahead of him when everything suddenly went horribly wrong. The truck suddenly stopped at the intersection Dwayne swerved to avoid a collision but he hit either the back of the truck or a ball on the truck’s crane. He hit the road and his bike landed on top of him pinning him to the ground as it skidded another 90 ft when it came to rest he was miraculously still alive. Dwayne’s girlfriend Dixie Meadows along with Barry Oakley’s sister candy were taking the same route they came upon the accident scene and waited in horror for the ambulance. Dwayne reportedly stopped breathing twice on the way to the hospital and had to be revived each time. In her 2014 book Please be with me Dwayne’s daughter Galadriel talks of the heartbreak at the hospital. Doctors assured the family that Dwayne would survive so as he was wheeled into surgery hopes were high but 3 hours later came the horrible news. Dwayne had suffered a collapsed chest ruptured coronary artery and badly damaged liver as the attending surgeon later stated any one of these injuries would likely have killed someone but the combination left little hope. And so after hours of surgery Dwayne Alman was pronounced dead at just 24 years old.
Friends family and the musical world at large mourned at Dwayne’s funeral service in Mak days later record producer Jerry Wexler gave the eulogy stating that Alman had attained his place among the great blues musicians of the South. After a period of mourning the band marched on. The now five members of the Almond Brothers Band prepared their next album which featured plenty of guitar work from Dwayne. He’d recorded Little Martha for Dixie just weeks before he died but memories weren’t enough for Dixie who sued unsuccessfully to gain control of the estate. Dwayne’s death had hit the group’s base player Barry Oakley particularly badly depression was chipping away at him even as he tried to guide the band forward. One year and 13 days after Dwayne had died in a motorbike accident Oakley smashed his motorbike into a city bus just three blocks from where Dwayne had met his own fate.
He was able to walk away from the crow and made his way back to the big house but he was soon rushed to hospital. His injuries doctor said meant death had been inevitable even if he’d received treatment right away. In tribute to their friendship Oakley was buried in a plot right next to Dwayne at Rose Hill Cemetery. The Almond Brothers Band continued on through various incarnations and breakups but Greg died in 2017 the same year drummer but trucks took his own life. In 1995 the band that Dwayne Alman had been so instrumental and starting and shaping was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Dwayne remains high on lists of the greatest guitarists of all time. Despite his early departure his legacy remains strong. If you enjoyed this fact Tate video give it a thumbs up and subscribe for more incredible stories if you want to see in who we cover next join our membership program through the link in the description for exclusive perks your support means everything to us thanks for watching and we’ll see you in the next one
