From “Statesboro Blues” to “One Way Out” and “Trouble No More,” the Allman Brothers Band’s performance of blues classics epitomized the compliment, “they made it their own.”
Just as “Trouble No More” passed from the country blues of Sleepy John Estes to the Chicago blues sound of Muddy Waters’ version in 1955, it surfaced once again in 1969 – rocking with Duane Allman’s blistering slide guitar on the Allman Brothers Band’s eponymous first album. In the blues tradition, one does not do “covers” of others’ music. Rather, one reinterprets and pays homage to those who passed it forward, and the Allmans did so with uncanny virtuosity for 45 years.
Since the final performance of the Allman Brothers in October 2014 and the death of Gregg Allman in 2017, there has been a noticeable uptick in the number of performers in a variety of locales performing the music of the Allman Brothers. “Midnight Rider” – featured on the Brothers’ second album and on Gregg’s 1973 solo album, Laid Back – is one example, appearing in an insurance ad. Alison Krauss just released a version of “Come and Go Blues.” But it’s “Whipping Post,” the modal-rock-with-heartbreak-blues-lyrics jam from the debut album that has gone viral, even appearing in the first few minutes of the newest incarnation of A Star is Born.
Let’s take a look at where this song came from and where it has been lately.
As recounted by Gregg in his memoir, Not My Cross to Bear, the year was 1969. It was late at night when the music and lyrics jarred Gregg awake, while everyone in the home of artist Ellen Hopkins was asleep – including little Brittany Oakley, whose parents were, like Gregg, staying in Ms. Hopkins’ Jacksonville, Florida, home. Brother Duane was the conduit between the artist and the incipient “family” of musicians and friends occupying spare rooms. The instructions were clear – all effort must be made to remain silent through the night, else the baby be awoken. If that happens, Duane said, “Man, we’re outta here. Ya dig?”
But what is a songwriter to do when a song arrives in one’s cranium under such conditions?
“Whipping Post” was waiting to make the transfer from idea to paper. Or to something. In this case, the something turned out to be an ironing board that the blond teenager came across in the dark kitchen, after quietly maneuvering through hallways and stairs to get there. A car’s headlight illuminated the kitchen for just enough time for Gregg Allman to spot a red-and-blue box of matches. It was imperative he get this down – not just the lyrics but the modal 11/4 time melody that he had never before conceived. (Indeed, it was he who asked, “What’s 11/4 time?” when congratulated by his big brother.) Gregg struck a match, blew it out, and using the burnt end, “charted out the three triads and the two little steps, and then I went to work on the lyrics: ‘I’ve been run down, and I’ve been lied to …'”
Forty-five years later, as the final days of the Allman Brothers Band came and went, and as we lost Gregg and original drummer Butch Trucks, the music festival circuit was increasingly alive with bands greatly influenced by and in some cases genetically related to the “original six” 1969-71 lineup. Now, as we wind down 2018, we discover a definite trend, with “Whipping Post” becoming the go-to song for both established and new performers seeking to prove authenticity and talent as well as to pay homage to the fallen Brothers.
Some people already know of Frank Zappa’s 1984 response to an annoying fan by covering this song – expertly of course – but it’s in the past couple of years that we have seen country stars, talent-show contestants, and even marching bands tackle “Whipping Post.”
Here is a sampling …
For good measure, we’ll start with Zappa’s infamous take:
Tied for my favorite on this list, the Berklee Five Week String Orchestra:
Tied with the Berklee orchestra is Refuge, a multinational group of teenagers who have touched my heart:
On America’s Got Talent, Noah Guthrie treats the song with dedication to its blues-rock core:
Chris Stapleton has paid tribute to more than one rocker we have lost recently, such as Tom Petty, and lends his vocal power to Gregg’s lament:
Finally, in memoriam after Gregg Allman’s passing, the University of Georgia Redcoat halftime band made “Whipping Post” their own, as have high school marching bands. One of the latter, Yulee High School, has a nicely done digitation of the band’s formations during the song:
As 2019 marks the 50th anniversary of all things 1969, with most attention likely to be focused on Woodstock-related memorials and performances, it appears a half-century year old song about timeless heartache and the drowning of one’s sorrows has captured the blues-rocking imagination of a new generation. That’s news that does not make me feel like I’m dying.
