Allman Brothers “Sweet Melissa” – Acoustic

If you were around back in the 70’s / 80’s and liked Southern Rock, than there was no way you couldn’t have run into the Allman Brothers band.

The orginal band which was formed in 1969 goes as follows:

Gregg Allman – organ, piano, guitar, vocals Duane Allman – guitar, slide guitar Dickey Betts – guitar, slide guitar, vocals Berry Oakley – bass, vocals Butch Trucks – drums, tympani Jai Johanny “Jaimoe” Johanson – drums, percussion

In this video, the bros perform an acoustic “but plugged” in version of “Sweet Melissa” – back from 1990.

Some more info about the Allman Brothers:

“The group was formed in Macon, GA, and consisted of Duane and Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, and Jai Johanny Johanson.Brothers Duane and Gregg Allman grew up in Daytona Beach, Florida, and had been playing music publicly since the early 1960s. They formed a garage band called the Escorts in 1963, which evolved into the Allman Joys in 1965.From there the brothers formed Hour Glass and moved to Los Angeles. The Hour Glass released two failed albums onLiberty Records in 1967 and 1968.They were all released from the contract except Gregg, who Liberty thought might have some commercial potential.Gregg and Duane had previously met Butch Trucks and his band The 31st of February while touring as the Allman Joys, and decided to record an album with them in September 1968, shortly after the breakup of Hour Glass. This album was eventually released as Duane & Greg Allman on the Bold Records label in 1972. Duane Allman played on Wilson Pickett’s hit version of “Hey Jude” and became the primary session guitarist for FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, recording with Aretha Franklin, King Curtis, Percy Sledge, and others.Allman started jamming with Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks and Berry Oakley in Jacksonville. Eddie Hinton, with whom Duane Allman had played in Muscle Shoals, was considered to play guitar, but Hinton refused in order to join the Muscle Shoals studio ban Duane brought in Jaimoe, a drummer he had played with in the past.” more

One of the Allman Brother’s trademark sounds was the two electric guitars in harmony. Songs like Jessica which is all instrumental, is still played over the radio and widely featured in commercial use… According to A January 2006 Wall Street Journal article, Jessica is  “a true national heirloom.”