How the Allman Brothers Fillmore East Live Album Came to Happen
$2000 Reward
We are searching for 1969 to 1972 original Allman Brothers concert posters. Please call 310-346-1965 or take a picture and email it to rareboard@aol.com. Any condition accepted.
On March 11, 1971, the Allman Brothers Band took the stage at Bill Graham’s Fillmore East Theater in New York City for a series of shows over three nights that are among the most celebrated in rock history. Most of the country was unfamiliar with Southern Rock. That all changed that week. The Band pushed their songs to their very limits, and Rock history was made. Many consider that the At Fillmore East the best live album of all time.
Probably the most significant factor in the production of the album was Bill Graham. He was a taskmaster, had a flair for theatrical production, and was a showman. He expected the bands to be on time and perform to their highest levels. The Fillmore East use to be an old Yiddish theater built back in the 1920s known for its fine acoustics. There was not a bad seat in the house. If the Band was good, the audience was in for a treat.
It was Duane who thought the Band should do a live album. All band members knew it would occur at the Fillmore East. It was a logical choice. Ironically, the Allman Brothers were not the headline band on March 11. It was Johnny Winter. The Band lined up two well-known producers for the show Tom Dowd and Johnny Sandlin. Tom Dowd was a genius with acoustics and set up microphones strategically across the hall. He also opened all of the vocal microphones on stage and left them open during all the shows. He trusted the Band to play their best. Each band member played his heart out and kicked it into overdrive. Together they went to places they could never go by themselves. Over the next three days, the producers would make friendly suggestions to individual band members on what or how to play. The album is all live with zero studio work and considered a recording masterpiece.
After the first set on March 11, half the audience got up and walked out when Winter took the stage. Both bands’ managers joked that after that night, Johnny would be opening for the Allman Brothers.
Believe it or not, the album cover was not taken in New York City. It was taken in an alleyway across the street from Capricorn Records in Macon, Georgia. The roadies just took the Band’s equipment out of the truck, and somebody stenciled The Allman Brothers at Fillmore East on one of the cases. In the middle of the shoot, Duane got up, and the photographer went ballistic. When everyone was laughing, the photographer had the sense to snap this famous picture of the Band.
At Fillmore East went gold on October 25, 1971. Four days later, Duane was killed in a motorcycle accident. The Band made history at the Fillmore, but what a tragic loss for the Southern Rock with the passing way of Dwane Allman.
He will pay $2,000 in cash for the original 1969 to 1972 Allman Brothers concert posters with venue information and show dates printed on the layout. If you happen to have one, please call 310-346-1965 or take a picture and email it to rareboard@aol.com. Any condition accepted.