A Pilgrimage to Mecca.... er, Make that Macon, Georgia

Visited Jan. 15, 2021

By Marty

Painting of Duane Allman in lobby of Capricorn Studio & Museum

I’m a longtime fan of the Allman Brothers Band and other bands of the Southern Rock genre. I was in high school in the early 1970’s (Class of ’75) when the ABB was at its peak (and some, myself included, would argue that, despite the loss of key band members, the ABB remained at its peak in terms of their live performances for another 40 years!)

The ABB was the first and easily the biggest act for Capricorn Records in Macon, GA. Capricorn Records was ground zero as the recording studio for southern rock bands (Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels Band, Elvin Bishop, Wet Willie and more.)

If you want to read more about the history and revitalization of Capricorn Studios check out this article:

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/capricorn-studios-allman-brothers-southern-rock-923818/

Soooo, while Janell and I were in Savannah I took a guy’s day and drove 2 ½ hours to Macon to visit a few sites associated with the ABB.

I started my day visiting the intersection where Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident in 1971 at the age of 24. Despite his brief time on this earth Duane is still acknowledged as one of the top ten guitar plays of all time.

Next I drove over to the recently restored Capricorn Studios. The studio building had been abandoned for the better part of two decades and was a likely candidate to be bulldozed. Mercer University of Macon invested $4.3 million into the four building 20,000 square foot complex, now renamed Mercer Music at Capricorn. The facility opened in late 2019, just in time for Covid to squash their business plan!

I toured the facility and was in seventh heaven when we got to the original studio (a second modern studio has been added) which, with some modest sprucing up, is in the same condition as it was when the ABB recorded there.

After the studio tour and museum visit I scooted over to The Big House where several of the band members lived from 1970-1973. The Big House is now a really well done ABB museum.

Lastly I visited Rose Hill Cemetery where Duane and Greg Allman are buried along with two of the other original six band members (Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks). Rose Hill Cemetery has significance for the ABB and their fans beyond being the final resting place for several band members. The ABB used to hang out at Rose Hill Cemetery to consume illegal substances, have encounters with young women, and get their creative juices going (musically speaking that is). The fellow at The Big House told me it was the one place where they could go and not get hassled over their long hair and hippiness.

At Rose Hill I also located the grave site of one Elizabeth Jones Reed. My favorite live song ever, by any band, is the instrumental “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” from the Live at Fillmore East album, written by Dickey Betts. Betts wrote the song about a woman he was seeing at the time but didn't want to use her name; so he took the name from this gravestone.

With my mission accomplished I began the 2 ½ hour drive back to Savannah. What a great day this was!

Intersection where Duane died

The renovated and expanded Mercer Music at Capricorn

A portion of the original studio

The Big House!

Painting of cover photo for Allman Brothers Band "Live at Fillmore East" Album

The last contract signed by Duane Allman for the final show played before his death

I attended the Cal Expo show in Sacramento with two of my buddies

This photo was taken while the ABB did a sound check for the final show at the Fillmore East venue in NYC. Bill Graham asked the ABB to close out this storied venue.

Guitar on the right is Duane Allman's first guitar. Duane eventually traded the guitar at a pawn shop. Years later Delaney Bramlett (of Delaney and Bonnie) would purchase the guitar, not knowing it belonged to Duane.

The Les Paul guitar on the left is a prototype from Gibson Custom to match Duane's original guitar.