Stemming From Personal Tragedy
Long before Gregg and Duane formed the Allman Brothers Band, and became pioneers in blues, rock, and jazz sound, the brothers survived a childhood scarred by tragedy. The boys were just toddlers (Duane was three and Gregg was two) when their father, Willis Turner Allman, was murdered one night after Christmas, in 1949. It happened in Norfolk, where the Allmans were living at the time.
Duane Allman. Photo by Peter Tarnoff/Mediapunch/Shutterstock
Willis, a 31-year-old second lieutenant in the U.S. Army, had been stationed at Fort Story. On the night of the murder, his wife, Geraldine, and their boys were visiting family for the holidays in North Carolina. Willis and another officer, 28-year-old Robert Buchanan, met a hitchhiker in the Oriental Gardens restaurant. The three played shuffleboard and had several drinks.