Editing The Allman Brothers Band (section)

==Musical style and influences==
{{Listen
| filename     = Whipping Post Allman Bros.ogg
| title        = "Whipping Post"
| description  = "[[Whipping Post (song)|Whipping Post]]" regularly exceeded 20 minutes at concerts, and was an example of the band's [[rhythm and blues]] influence.
| filename2    = In Memory of Liz Reed.ogg
| title2       = "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed"
| description2 = "[[In Memory of Elizabeth Reed]]" is an [[instrumental]] that showcases the band's strong emphasis on improvisation and [[jazz]].
| filename3    = Ramblin Man.ogg
| title3       = "Ramblin' Man"
| description3 = "[[Ramblin' Man (The Allman Brothers Band song)|Ramblin' Man]]" was the group's biggest [[hit single]], and considerably more [[country music|country]]-inspired than other songs.
}}
The Allman Brothers Band have generally been considered one of the pioneering bands in [[Southern rock]], although the group distanced itself from the term.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=232}} Guitarist Dickey Betts was most vocal about this classification, which he considered unfair: "I think it's limiting. I'd rather just be known as a [[progressive rock]] band from the South. I'm damned proud of who I am and where I'm from, but I hate the term 'Southern rock.' I think calling us that pigeonholed us and forced people to expect certain types of music from us that I don't think are fair."{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=232}}
Gregg Allman also saw the "Southern rock" tag as redundant, saying it was like saying "rock rock" due to rock and roll being born in the South.<ref name="history">{{cite video|people=Gregg Allman|title="Have a Nice Decade", ''The History of Rock 'n' Roll''|medium=DVD|publisher=Time-Life Video}}</ref>  The band was certainly at the forefront of the genre's popularity in the early 1970s; the breakthrough of ''At Fillmore East'' led their hometown of Macon to become flooded with "Southern rock" groups.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=233}} Despite this, the group has continued to remove itself from the term. "The problem I have is a lot of people associate it with [[rednecks]] and [[rebel flag]]s and backward mentality. That has never been representative of the Allman Brothers Band," said guitarist Warren Haynes.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=233}}

The group largely infused hints of the [[blues]], [[jazz]], and [[country music|country]] into their music. They all avidly shared their record collections with one another during the early days of the band.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=60}} For example, Betts was into country music and the guitar work of [[Chuck Berry]], while Trucks was largely into groups such as [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[the Grateful Dead]].{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=60}} Duane and Gregg Allman grew infatuated with [[rhythm and blues]] in their teens, collecting records by [[James Brown]], [[B.B. King]], [[Sonny Boy Williamson I|Sonny Boy Williamson]], and [[Howlin' Wolf]].{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=3}} The brothers were also heavily influenced by guitarist [[Taj Mahal (musician)|Taj Mahal]] and his 1968 eponymous [[Taj Mahal (album)|debut album]]. It was this influence that led both to their discovery of their now famous [[slide guitar]] style.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.muscleshoalsthemovie.com|title=Muscle Shoals|website=Muscle Shoals|language=en|access-date=April 20, 2017}}</ref> Drummer [[Jaimoe|Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson]] largely introduced the group to [[jazz]]. While Betts commented that he was interested in artists such as [[Howard Roberts]] prior, Jaimoe "really fired us up on it," introducing his bandmates to [[Miles Davis]] and [[John Coltrane]].{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=60}} Duane Allman was also inspired by Howard Roberts, [[Wes Montgomery]], [[Tal Farlow]], and [[Kenny Burrell]].{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=60}} The source of the band's modal jamming in their earliest days was Coltrane's rendition of "[[My Favorite Things (song)|My Favorite Things]]" and Davis' "[[All Blues]]",{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=61}} which Jaimoe occasionally stole from: "I did a lot of copying, but only from the best."{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=56}} This type of jazz-infused jamming is expressed in the instrumental "[[In Memory of Elizabeth Reed]]", which focuses heavily on improvisation.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A05E5DC163EF934A35757C0A962958260 | title=Allman Band Explores The Realm Of the Guitar | first=Peter | last=Watrous | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=April 7, 1994}}</ref> "Whipping Post" was notable for its inclusion of blues-ballad themes,<ref name="rs500">{{cite magazine | url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596228/whipping_post | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016130103/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/6596228/whipping_post | url-status=dead | archive-date=October 16, 2007 | title=Whipping Post | magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] | date=December 9, 2004 | access-date=August 7, 2015}}</ref> and became one of the most popular (and longest) compositions.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE2D81431F936A15755C0A96F948260 | title=A Band That Gave An Age of Excess A Good Name | first=Robert | last=Palmer | newspaper=[[The New York Times]] | date=June 25, 1989 | author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)}}</ref> Later, Betts generally led the band in a more "country" direction following Duane's passing; their only hit single "[[Ramblin' Man (The Allman Brothers Band song)|Ramblin' Man]]" was considered so unusually "country" for the group that they were initially reluctant to record it.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=183}}

Duane Allman had the idea of having two lead guitarists, which was inspired by [[Curtis Mayfield]]; "[he] wanted the bass, keyboards, and second guitar to form patterns behind the solo rather than just comping," said Allman.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=61}} Their style and incorporation of guitar [[harmonies]] was very influential on later musicians.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=68}} "The pair also had a wide range of complementary techniques, often forming intricate, interlocking patterns with each other and with the bassist, Berry Oakley, setting the stage for dramatic flights of improvised melodies."{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=68}} Dickey Betts' playing was very melody-based; "My style is just a little too smooth and round to play the blues stuff straight, because I'm such a melody guy that even when I'm playing the blues, I go for melody first," he said.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=63}} His listening of country and string [[bluegrass music|bluegrass]] growing up influenced this considerably: "I played [[mandolin]], [[ukulele]], and [[fiddle]] before I ever touched a guitar, which may be where a lot of the major keys I play come from."{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=68}} He later characterized their style as "question and answer, anticipation and conclusion," which involved allowing each musician's downbeat to arrive in a different spot, while also keeping consideration of the bass guitar lines.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=69}}

The group also held an [[improvisational]] approach to live performances, which connected the band with [[jam band]] culture. "Jazz and blues musicians have been doing this for decades, but I think they really brought that sense that anyone onstage can inspire anyone else at any given time to rock music," said Haynes.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=69}} "We sure didn't set out to be a "jam band" but those long jams just emanated from within the band, because we didn't want to just play three minutes and be over," said Allman.{{sfn|Paul|2014|p=121}} ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' referred to the group as "without question the first great jam band, and they took the jam to heights that it had not previously reached."<ref name="rs1">
{{cite magazine |last=Gibbons |first=Billy |date=April 15, 2004 |title=The Immortals – The Greatest Artists of All Time: 52) The Allman Brothers Band |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7235465/the_immortals__the_greatest_artists_of_all_time_52_the_allman_brothers_band |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080316051518/http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7235465/the_immortals__the_greatest_artists_of_all_time_52_the_allman_brothers_band |archive-date=March 16, 2008 |access-date=June 21, 2008 |magazine=Rolling Stone |issue=#946}}
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