While the rock and roll excesses of drugs, alcohol, and personality clashes led to a series of breakups that culminated with the band's permanent reunion in 1989, Gregg fought his own battle with substance abuse and failed marriages, including his tabloid-frenzied relationship with Cher, before finally cleaning up once and for all. Setting the record straight about the band's struggles in the face of death, Gregg shows how the decision to persevere came with a heavy price. Speaking for the first time about the profound impact that his brother's death had on him, Gregg offers a tribute to Duane that only a younger brother could write, showing how, to this day, he still confronts the grief of losing his big brother, even as Duane continues to guide and inspire him. Along the way, he goes behind the scenes of some of the greatest rock music ever recorded, without shying away from the infamous and painful deaths of his brother, Duane, and Allman Brothers bassist Berry Oakley. Bringing to life the carefree early days of the Allman Brothers Band, Gregg holds nothing back-from run-ins with the law to meeting girls on the road, from jamming at the Fillmore East to experimenting with drugs.

But all that changed when Duane and Gregg came together with four other men to forge something new-a unique sound shaped by soul, rock, and blues and brimming with experimentation a sound not just of a band, but of a family. The story begins simply: with Gregg and his older brother, Duane, growing up in the South, raising hell with their guitars, and drifting from one band to another. Now, he tells the unflinching story of his life, laying bare the unvarnished truth about his wild ride that has spanned across the years. As one of the greatest rock icons of all time, Gregg Allman has lived it all and then some.

Gregg allman my cross to bear