A "tribute" to Fox News Channel in memes

Given the fact that it was Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler who made the above statement while planning to invade sovereign nations for the purpose of exterminating entire populations of people in Europe, I have decided to post a collection of memes created by myself and others to illustrate the parallels between Germany during the 1930s and the United States in the 21st century because of the Republican Party's use of propaganda within the mainstream conservative media.

Of all the conservative media outlets in America, Fox News Channel is by far the most influential and the most dangerous network in U.S. history. The following memes will help to point out the reasoning for my argument...

Think of it this way: If hundreds of people are creating and posting memes that point out what is wrong with watching a cable network like Fox News Channel, then why would anyone in their right mind ignore the warnings? Perhaps writer Gore Vidal was right after all when he made the following observation...

Why Donald Trump is the perfect Republican presidential candidate for 2016 (unless you happen to be a Republican)

Democracy, which means despair of finding any Heroes to govern you, and contented putting up with the want of them.
-Thomas Carlyle

Fascism is capitalism in decay.
-Vladimir Lenin

There's a sucker born every minute.
-P.T. Barnum

There's an old saying which states that democracy is only as good as those who participate in it. If this old saying is true (and I happen to believe that it is), then 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald J. Trump is proof that democracy is in critical condition and needs to be put on life support in order to survive within the United States.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, the Republican Party is in a state of crisis like never before in its history. This is due in large part to the fact that despite their efforts to attract more voters to their brand of politics, the Republican National Committee has been held hostage by their most loyal voting base which is made up of constituents who no longer believe in the idea that bipartisan compromise leads to greater electoral victories when it comes to who represents their party. Instead, their belief is much more rigid, simplistic and to the point: "Give us what we demand, or we will find someone else who will". Only in recent decades has this spoiled-rotten mentality of extreme partisanship found its way into the American political mainstream, and it is this infantile mentality that con artists like Donald Trump are now taking advantage of to further their own reputations at the expense of American culture.

Trump appeals to and epitomizes the two main groups of thought within the Republican Party: Those who believe that wealth, power and influence are the only determining factors in regards to how successful a person is in society, and those who are willing to insult and dehumanize anyone who disagrees with them. In both groups, historical facts and figures only stand in the way of what they want to see or hear every time Donald Trump opens his mouth. Any form of intellectual, objective or rational thought has no place at the table for supporters of Trump's candidacy, and he is already well aware of it.

What makes Donald Trump's candidacy for the 2016 presidency disturbing is that it is a reflection on how self-absorbed and isolated a certain percentage of the American electorate have become as a result of years of foreign and domestic failures within the Republican Party, and these failures are the main reason why Republicans have ironically chosen to blame everyone other than themselves for the problems created within their own faction. The "know nothing/believe anything" attitude that exists within the Republican electorate is at its most elevated level whenever someone who openly challenges the decency and fairness of American society decides to run for public office under the GOP's banner. Put simply, Republicans want someone who will pander to their innermost destructive demons regardless if they happen to claim otherwise, and no one knows this and is putting it into practice for 2016 more than Donald Trump. 

 Another disturbing aspect of Trump's candidacy is the fact that his supporters honestly believe that he has the ability to relate to them on a personal level. This is another example of the "know nothing/believe anything" attitude within the Republican electorate which continues to isolate their party, especially given the fact that the majority of voters are already familiar with Trump's reputation as a man who credits no one other than himself for his success as an entrepreneur in real estate and the celebrity that has come with it. Keep in mind that the only person who has ever given Donald Trump a run for his money when it comes to self-aggrandizement (and was rather successful at doing it) was New York hotel mogul Leona Helmsley during the 1980s.

For Helmsley, however, her success also led to her downfall because of her decision to willfully avoid paying income taxes, which resulted in her being convicted for tax evasion and being sentenced to serve time in Federal prison. After her death in August of 2007, it was discovered that Helmsley had entrusted all of her remaining wealth to her pet dog... "Queen of Mean" indeed.
The other reason for why I mention Leona Helmsley is because her shallow outlook on success permeates throughout the Republican agenda at this point in time. Greed, selfishness, corruption, criminality, arrogance---behavior that used to be kept behind closed doors within the GOP is now accepted as virtuous and to be celebrated, along with the notion that such behavior should be legitimized as a reason for making arguments to eliminate Federal spending for departments like the Internal Revenue Service. Even novelist Ayn Rand was proven to be a hypocritical fraud when it was discovered that she collected Social Security benefits while writing about the "virtuous" advantages of putting one's own interests above the needs of others, but that doesn't prevent conservatives from placing Rand's ideology of "rugged individualism" above the concept of using tax dollars for the purpose of civil charity towards the least fortunate and most vulnerable in American society. As I have already alluded to earlier, facts and figures only get in the way for "know nothing/believe anything" Republican voters who would rather see a good political dust-up that helps to further their party's agenda during an election season, even if that agenda only benefits the smallest and wealthiest percentage of the U.S. population after the dust settles.

But perhaps the biggest reason for Donald Trump's popularity among the Republican electorate has more to do with the amount of desperation within the GOP since the end of Ronald Reagan's presidency than anything else, especially when one considers the damaging effects of Reagan's foreign and domestic policies combined with the disastrous blunders of "less government" neo-conservatism during George W. Bush's term in the White House. Even before Reagan became governor of California during the 1960s, the Republican Party had a reputation for using desperate tactics like, for example, the use of propaganda laced with blatantly false accusations aimed at Democrats and other rival political factions for the purpose of remaining relevant in the minds of voters following World War II when communism was beginning to replace Euro-fascism as the new political bogeyman in American society. Yet U.S. historians and economists have already proven that a large number of wealthy and prominent Republicans privately financed Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Germany during the 1930s instead of using their money to help stabilize the damaging effects of the Great Depression within their own country; a fact that only a certain percentage of Americans are aware of in this day and age, and a fact that the RNC would rather sweep under the carpet of time so that future generations of voters will never find out about it.

Desperate people have a tendency to do or say things that are considered as legitimate in times of political and/or social unrest, even if what they are doing and/or saying is proven to be nothing more than expressions of vitriolic hypocrisy. These desperate people also have a tendency to not allow the cooler heads to prevail in such circumstances. Considering the current situation that Republicans find themselves in regarding their party's lack of popularity among the majority of voters, it really is no wonder as to why so many of them are enthralled with the prospect of having a self-aggrandizing megalomaniac like Donald Trump become the next president of the United States. For the average "know nothing/believe anything" Republican voter, desperate times call for desperate measures, and no one within the field of 2016 presidential hopefuls panders to the preposterous and bellicose desperation among Republican voters by using campaign rhetoric loaded with the perfect blend of defamation, demagoguery and fear-mongering better than "The Donald". It could be argued that when it comes to the majority of the 2016 Republican electorate who support Trump's candidacy for president, false hope is better for their party than no hope at all.

Whatever the reasons are for his high approval ratings among Republicans, one thing is certain: Donald J. Trump is most likely to become the one Republican presidential candidate who exposes everything that is wrong with the GOP before he is finished. Whether or not Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus or any conservative lobbyist likes it, Trump could end up taking the Republican Party down with him by simply giving Republican voters exactly what they demand for and, to a large extent, what they deserve: A presidential candidate who will tell them everything that they want to hear regardless of how devastating the consequences will be for their own party by November of 2016.

Just as a precautionary side note, I would like to remind both Facebook users and employees that you have already agreed to the conditions of both Google's Adult Content Policy and Blogger's Terms of Service Policy before viewing this post. So if you are contemplating the idea of reporting or removing this post because you don't want it to be viewed on Facebook, don't bother unless you would like to see Facebook, Inc. risk facing Chapter 11 bankruptcy as a result of a class-action lawsuit for practicing unlawful online discrimination and censorship by way of violating Facebook's own community standards policies.

AC/DC: A Legacy of Hard Rock, Hard Living and Hard Memories

The history of rock and roll is filled with stories of bands and artists whose careers in the music industry drove them to excesses which ultimately led to their own personal destruction. In fact, one could argue that more people have died of unnatural or mysterious causes while working in the world of rock and pop music than in any other profession outside of the military, organized crime or the porno industry. It's a lifestyle that encourages those who want to make a lucrative career by performing onstage or in the studio to go the extra mile by pushing everything to the limit with no regrets, exceptions or consideration towards the consequences of one's own actions.

AC/DC in 1977 (left to right): Malcolm Young-guitar, Bon
Scott-vocal, Angus Young-guitar, Phil Rudd-drums, Cliff
Williams-bass

It was this lifestyle that was joyously reflected in the rock group AC/DC during Bon Scott's tenure as the band's lead vocalist and lyricist. Aside from the fact that the group featured two incredibly talented guitarists with a strong, working-class ethic (brothers Malcolm and Angus 

Young) , AC/DC's music and image epitomized (and, to a large extent, glorified) anti-authoritarianism and non-conformity, which in turn made them one of the most popular rock groups in Australia within a short period of time.

AC/DC's third album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". The
release of this 1976 LP sealed the group's popularity in Australia
and would help prepare them for their future success in the UK.

By the end of 1976, the band had moved to England and were expanding their fan base at the height of the punk rock era. It wouldn't take long for AC/DC to win over punks and headbangers with their brand of anti-establishment hard rock. The reason for this was two-fold: For punks, AC/DC's sound was much more refined than their punk rock counterparts like the Sex Pistols. For hard rock fans in the UK, AC/DC was a reminder of what rock music sounded like before progressive groups like Yes, Genesis and Emerson, Lake & Palmer had come along.  

By the Summer of 1977, AC/DC believed that they were ready to make their name known in the United States. The band recorded and released their fourth album entitled "Let There Be Rock", an eight-song masterpiece of raw, unadulterated power. The U.S. release of "Let There Be Rock" (the group's debut album in America) would also feature a remixed version of the song "Problem Child", which was released on their "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" album the previous year. The U.S. and European release would also feature cover art which included what would become the band's official logo.

Despite the initial release of "Let There Be Rock" in the U.S., American audiences were not as accepting to AC/DC as in Australia or the UK. The reason for this was simple: Unlike in other parts of the world, radio stations in the U.S. were hesitant about playing songs from hard rock groups because of disco's popularity at the time. Even bands and artists who began their careers in the hard rock genre found themselves having to compromise their careers by adding disco-themed songs and/or soft-rock ballads to their repertoire or risk facing obscurity by the late 1970s. For an anti-authoritarian, multi-watt, no-holds-barred rock group like AC/DC, such a musical climate would prove to be more difficult to conquer... 

Difficult, but not impossible.  

1978 would see AC/DC embarking on their first world tour to promote their fifth album entitled "Powerage". The album itself would be the band's first on Atlantic Records and would feature a much more polished sound than their previous releases. The album also featured the talents of new bassist Cliff Williams, who replaced Mark Evans following the release of "Let There Be Rock" the previous year.

Another significant change that can be heard on "Powerage" is the quality of lyrics from vocalist Bon Scott, which remains one of the more underrated aspects of this album. Put simply, "Powerage" is arguably AC/DC's best work under the production of Harry Vanda and George Young (Malcolm and Angus Young's older brother).

It was during this period that AC/DC would also be introduced to American audiences like never before by making their first televised appearance in the U.S. while performing live on the popular late-night series "The Midnight Special".

In 1979, AC/DC were finally gaining recognition in the U.S. with the release of their live album "If You Want Blood You've Got It" during the Fall of 1978. However, they still needed to release a studio album that would receive considerable airplay in America. It was decided that a change in production was needed in order to make this happen. The group left longtime producers Vanda and Young and looked for someone who would help in capturing every aspect of AC/DC's live sound and then bring it to the forefront in the studio. At first, famed Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin producer Eddie Kramer was brought in to produce the album. After that idea fell through as a result of constant arguments between Kramer and members of the band, a relative newcomer to the music industry named Robert John "Mutt" Lange was called in to produce the new album.

The album's title and songs would reflect the general direction that the band had been on at the time, and also the hope of having that direction change for the better. The title: "Highway To Hell". 

Lange's production techniques are clearly evident on "Highway To Hell", but in more ways than what has been already stated by others who have expressed their opinions of this album. For example, there's an ominous atmosphere to the title track and the last song on the album entitled "Night Prowler" which probably wouldn't have existed if Eddie Kramer or Vanda and Young had worked on them (legend has it that both songs were intentionally slowed down to create an eerie effect). Add to that an equally-ominous album cover which shows lead guitarist Angus Young portrayed as a sneering devil and holding a barbed tail that's pointing down towards vocalist Bon Scott, who's shown laughing while the other members of the band have serious expressions on their faces, and you have an LP that is all but guaranteed to stir up enough controversy to make an impact in a country like the United States.  
The band went on another world tour in 1979 to promote the album as a headlining act before it was even released, which is a clear indication of how confident AC/DC, their management and Atlantic Records were in the success of "Highway To Hell" once it became available in record stores in August of that year.

1979 promotional ad for "Highway To Hell" 

For the first time in their careers together, AC/DC were beginning to achieve international recognition as major players in the genre of hard rock. Both "Highway To Hell" and "If You Want Blood You've Got It" had earned the band gold records by the end of 1979. As U.S. audiences were growing weary of disco and light-rock artists, many of them were beginning to discover what bands like AC/DC were providing as an alternative, and that was high-volume party music without all of the excessive frills and drama.

However, the constant touring and the growing popularity of being in AC/DC would take its toll on one of the group's most recognized members.

Bon Scott in January of 1980, one of the last-known photos taken of
him before his death

While taking a break from writing lyrics for the band's follow-up album to "Highway To Hell", Bon Scott and a friend named Alistair Kinnear decided to visit a local club in London called "Music Machine" on the night of February 18, 1980. While at the club, Bon had ordered seven double whiskeys and drank them. Afterwards, Scott and Kinnear left "Music Machine" in Kinnear's car. According to Kinnear, Bon had passed out in the passenger's seat by the time they had arrived at his flat. After unsuccessfully attempting to wake him up, Kinnear drove Scott to his home in King's College during the early-morning hours of February 19, 1980 and left Bon in his car to sleep off his drinking spree at the club. 

Sadly, it was the last time that Kinnear or anyone else would see Bon Scott alive again. He was 33 years old.

During the late-evening hours of February 19, 1980, the tragic news of Bon Scott's death from alcohol poisoning was becoming an international headline in the world of rock music. Those who had seen AC/DC in concert only months before were now wondering if the band would continue on. The band's founding members Malcolm and Angus Young were wondering if AC/DC should even continue on. It was during this time that some critics within the music press decided to let their hostilities towards the band be known by attacking Bon personally for his behavior onstage and off. 
After Scott's funeral in Australia, the decision was made to keep the group going in his memory. AC/DC wouldn't just return after losing Bon Scott. They would return with a vengeance.    

"Mutt" Lange, whose production of "Highway To Hell" was successful for the band, would return to work on the follow-up to "Highway". On July 21, 1980 (less than six months after Bon Scott's death), AC/DC would release their most successful album to date; the ironic-yet-hauntingly titled "Back In Black". With its grim, no-nonsense jacket cover, new lead vocalist Brian Johnson and relentless sonic attack, "Back In Black" would prove to be a fitting tribute to Bon Scott. It would also prove to be the one hard rock album that signaled the official demise of disco, especially within the United States. All anyone had to do was drop the needle onto side one on his or her stereo and hear the mournful bell tolls which open "Hells Bells" to know that disco music's popularity was being laid to rest because of this album. Given the fact that disco was the one form of music that prevented AC/DC from reaching success sooner within the United States, songs like "Hells Bells", "Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution" and the album's title track were appropriate anthems to announce the end of the disco era in North America.

With the success of "Back In Black" in the U.S. came the inevitable popularity of the band's earlier work with Bon Scott. The first example of this was the 1980 release of the concert/documentary film entitled "Let There Be Rock" in theaters, which chronicled AC/DC's December 9th 1979 performance at the Pavillion De Paris in Paris, France. This was also due in large part to Atlantic Records' decision to re-release AC/DC's album catalog, along with the release of "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" in North America during the Summer of 1981.

The first official AC/DC box set was released by Atlantic
Records in 1981 and features vinyl LP versions of "High
Voltage", "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" and
"Powerage".

 In 1984, Atlantic also released "'74 Jailbreak", a compilation of songs from the band's first three albums which were not featured on the re-releases. 

Although AC/DC would never match the commercial success of "Back In Black", the band continues to be recognized as one of the greatest and most influential acts in the history of rock music. In recent years, AC/DC's popularity has even generated interest in several touring cover bands who only perform AC/DC's songs onstage. 

Hell's Belles performing live

One of the more popular AC/DC cover bands is the all-female group called "Hell's Belles", whose lead guitarist Adrian Conner performs in a schoolgirl uniform and, like Angus Young, does a striptease act which is complete with her mooning the audience.

Keeping it real: Hell's Belles' lead guitarist Adrian Conner

In the forty years since the release of their debut album "High Voltage", AC/DC has proven to be a band whose no frills brand of hard rock music remains an international force to be reckoned with. Despite the recent absence of rhythm guitarist and founding member Malcolm Young, the group continues to record albums and perform live, which is a testimony to their determination to finish what they have started.

The Fine Line Between Satirical Humor and Gratuitous Obscenity (and the hypocrisy that comes with it)

"Immersion (Piss Christ)", by Andres Serrano

In 1987, American artist and photographer Andres Serrano unveiled his latest portrait to the public which was basically an enlarged photo featuring a small, plastic Roman Catholic crucifix submerged in a glass of his own urine. The title of Serrano's portrait---"Immersion (Piss Christ)"---proved to be as controversial as the image itself, and it created a firestorm of outrage from Catholics and Protestants alike. 
Many within the Christian community (including many Christian conservatives in the United States) accused Serrano of promoting sacrilege, heresy and even Satanism because of his portrait. What made all of the outrage so ironic is that Serrano's inspiration for the portrait was his own anger at those within the Christian faith whom he believed had made Jesus seem less like a genuine redeemer and more like an imaginary figure of tyranny and commercialism. 

In the Summer of 1977, the British punk rock band known as the Sex Pistols released a single during Queen Elizabeth's 25th anniversary on the throne entitled "God Save the Queen", which criticized loyalty to the British monarchy. The song created such outrage among conservative British nationalists after its release that both the members of the Sex Pistols and their manager Malcolm McLaren were forced into temporary exile by the end of the year.

At this point, McLaren himself was already notorious for being the co-owner of a clothing boutique in London's King's Road District called "Sex", which specialized in sex-oriented attire, along with customized clothing designed by his business partner Vivienne Westwood. The clothing store became a popular hangout for many young people in London during the mid-1970s, including some who would go on to start what became the punk movement in London's West End.

How's this for an advertising gimmick?: fashion designer Vivienne
 Westwood (center-right) and fellow employees at "Sex" in 
London mooning the camera in 1976.

The punk movement was, in essence, a blatant rejection of all forms of authoritarian conformity in the U.K. at the time. Bands like the Sex Pistols and The Clash would reflect the attitude that was felt by many within the punk movement who believed that anything was better for the U.K. than what mainstream Brits considered as acceptable or even tolerable.

Promotional ad for "God Save the Queen" (1977)

But of all the punk rock bands in the U.K., the Sex Pistols were the most popular and the most controversial by the time "God Save the Queen" was released during the celebration of Her Majesty's Silver Jubilee in 1977, thus making them the biggest targets of scorn and ridicule by the British mainstream. Two of the band's members (vocalist Johnny Rotten and drummer Paul Cook) were violently attacked, and McLaren would end up being charged with resisting arrest during a concert promoting "God Save the Queen" on board a small yacht sailing along the Thames River.

Within a year after the release of "God Save the Queen", the Sex Pistols would break up immediately following a brief tour of the United States. The punk movement itself would end up becoming less of a threat and more of a novelty in British society as the years progressed. This would prove to be nothing more than another victory for the Monarchy and the conformists who support it.

But perhaps the most controversial example of blatant non-conformity in recent history came in the form of a popular magazine published in Paris, France called "Charlie Hebdo". This particular publication features artwork and commentary which ridicules and criticizes any and every aspect of Western culture. From politics to religion, nothing was considered sacred or out of bounds as far as the editors, writers and artists at "Charlie" were concerned. 
Like Andres Serrano in 1987 and the Sex Pistols ten years earlier, the artists, writers and editors of "Charlie Hebdo" had received their fair share of scathing criticism by those within the French conservative mainstream for their non-conformist views. And like "Immersion (Piss Christ)" in the U.S. and "God Save the Queen" in the U.K., "Charlie Hebdo" attracted a generation of people in France who believed that they were disenfranchised by those within mainstream French society and were fed up with having to choose conformity over individuality.

However, the one particular group of people who were most offended by the publication of "Charlie" were radical Islamic extremists because of the magazine's portrayal of the Muslim prophet Muhammad by artists and journalists who worked for the publication. I refuse to post such cartoon images or commentaries from "Charlie Hebdo" which feature the prophet Muhammad in them because of the fact that both the artwork and the statements are genuinely tasteless, vulgar and inflammatory. While I do believe in free speech and freedom of expression, I also believe that all religions should be respected equally.
What I will state in regards to the artwork and commentary featured in "Charlie" is this: On the one hand, it isn't too difficult to understand why a certain percentage of Jews, Muslims and Christians would find this magazine so offensive towards their religious beliefs. On the other hand, I personally don't understand how committing acts of unspeakable violence against the employees of a publication like "Charlie" does anything more than justify the writers' and artists' views on religious extremism within that publication.

There are two opposing thoughts that I will end this post with, and then I will leave it to the reader to decide which thought makes the most sense... 

The first thought comes from an old saying where I once lived: "If you stir up a nest of hornets, you're only asking to get stung". 

The second thought comes from another old saying: "If something makes you want to kill or die in the name of your cause, then why should your cause be considered as something worth living for?"

"Skydog": The Life and Legacy of Duane Allman

Even though it has been almost 45 years since legendary guitarist Duane Allman last performed onstage or in a recording studio, and even though there have been several articles written about him within that 45-year span of time, I figured that it was time for me to put my two cents' worth into this discussion. Hey, better late than never, right?

My first introduction to Duane as a guitarist was rather unpleasant, to say the least. I was three years old when the song "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos was beginning to receive airplay on radios all over America in March of 1971. Having little knowledge or awareness of hard rock music at the time, I became terrified when I first heard Duane's wailing, high-pitched slide-guitar solo on "Layla". It was unlike anything else that I had ever heard before, and it scared the hell out of me.
As I became more aware of guitar playing, I found myself beginning to appreciate Duane Allman's contribution to "Layla", especially after hearing the full-length version of the song. I began to understand Duane's talent as an interpreter of blues guitar to the point that whenever I hear "Layla" now, I can't help but feel stupid for having been so terrified of the song back in 1971. The naivete of youth makes us all feel like idiots in the long run, I suppose.

My appreciation for Duane Allman as a guitarist would grow on me as I became more aware of his work with the Allman Brothers Band. It was during this time that I realized just how talented he was at being versatile as a musician. His ability to combine blues music with jazz and hard rock seems effortless when listening to songs like "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" (an instrumental written by fellow Allman Brothers' guitarist Dickey Betts while sitting in Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia), along with other notable songs like "Whipping Post" and "Stormy Monday".

One could make the argument that Duane Allman was the American equivalent to such British contemporaries like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck, and I personally don't believe that such a comparison would be too much of an exaggeration. Like Page, Clapton and Beck, Duane would begin his career working as a studio musician before attempting to form bands of his own. And also like Page, Clapton and Beck, Duane was gaining recognition for his talent at improvisation when it came to performing with different artists in the studio during the 1960s.

Duane Allman with Wilson Pickett during the "Hey Jude"
recording sessions in November of 1968

From 1961 until the time of his death, Duane Allman had recorded numerous guitar tracks for different artists whose music ranged from rock and pop to R&B and soul. Throughout the decade, Duane was able to earn a living by traveling to different studios and working with such artists as Doris Duke, Clarence Carter, King Curtis, Aretha Franklin, Otis Rush and Boz Scaggs, to name a few.   

It was his work on Wilson Pickett's rendition of The Beatles' song "Hey Jude" in November of 1968 that brought Duane Allman's name to the attention of other notable artists in the music industry, including guitarist Eric Clapton...

 "I remember hearing Wilson Pickett's 'Hey Jude' and just being astounded by the lead break at the end. I had to know who that was immediately---right now."

Ironically, Duane had to talk Pickett into adding a cover of "Hey Jude" to the list of songs for his album. After its release in 1969, Pickett's version of "Hey Jude" would reach number 16 on the pop music charts, and it secured full-time work for Duane at the FAME/Muscle Shoals Sound Studio in Sheffield, Alabama. Not bad for a guitarist who had dropped out of high school in Daytona Beach, Florida so that he could focus his attention on having a career in music. 

The Allman Brothers Band in 1969 (left to right): Duane
Allman, Dickey Betts, Gregg Allman, Jai Johanny 
"Jaimoe" Johanson, Berry Oakley and Butch Trucks

It was also in 1969 that Duane and his younger brother Gregg were forming the Allman Brothers Band. The two brothers had attempted to form a couple of bands during the 1960s, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. 
After Gregg was having a difficult time working as a studio musician for Liberty Records in Hollywood, California, Duane gave Gregg a phone call from Jacksonville, Florida telling him to come back so that he could join a new group that he was putting together. Duane himself had grown weary of working as a studio musician and wanted to form a band that was unlike any other at the time. Gregg agreed to the offer, and then flew back to Jacksonville to join his brother.

The Allman Brothers Band were Duane Allman (guitar), Gregg Allman (keyboards, guitar, vocals), Dickey Betts (guitar, vocals), Berry Oakley (bass), Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums, percussion) and Butch Trucks (drums, percussion). In May of 1969, the band would take up residence in a friend's apartment building at 309 College Street in Macon, Georgia, where they would be met with disapproval by conservative locals in the city because of their long hair and liberal attitudes towards music, psychedelic drugs and racial integration. Duane would later move into a separate apartment at 1125 Bond Street in Macon.

The Allman Brothers' self-titled debut album was released on Atco/Capricorn Records in November of 1969 and was received with little accolades (it sold less than 40,000 copies). However, the group would form a bond with each other during the recording of this album, and that bond would become a literal brotherhood by the time their second album "Idlewild South" was released in September of 1970. In March of that year, the band moved into a large, Victorian-style house at 2321 Vineville Avenue in Macon which Berry Oakley's wife (named Elizabeth) had rented. The house would come to be known simply as "The Big House".   

 "Skydog" and "Slowhand": Duane Allman (far-right) with
Eric Clapton (center) and the other members of Derek
and the Dominos in 1970

While working on "Idlewild South", veteran producer Tom Dowd received a phone call to inform him that Eric Clapton would be working on an album with his new band at Criteria Studios in Miami, Florida during the month of August, 1970, and that Clapton wanted to know if Dowd would be available to help produce the album. The name of Clapton's new group was "Derek and the Dominos", and the working title for the album was "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs". 

Upon hearing the news from Dowd, Duane indicated that he would love to drop by Criteria Studios and watch Eric Clapton and his new band record the album, if it was okay with Clapton. Duane called Dowd later to inform him that the Allman Brothers Band would be in Miami to perform a benefit concert on August 26th. When Clapton learned of this news from Dowd, he insisted on attending the concert, saying, "you mean that guy who plays on the back of (Wilson Pickett's) 'Hey Jude'?...I want to see him play...let's go."

After the concert, Duane met with Clapton and asked if he could come by the studio and watch some of the recording sessions. "Bring your guitar", Clapton replied. "You've got to play." The rest is history.
Although "Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs" didn't do well in sales after its initial release in November of 1970, the title track "Layla" would go on to become one of the most memorable songs in rock music, and it would help launch Duane Allman's reputation as a guitarist even more as time passed.

After ten years of working as a session guitarist and constant touring with his own band, Duane Allman was beginning to reach the pinnacle of recognition for his contributions to the rock music industry. The 1971 live album "At Fillmore East" (the Allman Brothers' third album) was receiving high praise from the music press and would ultimately give the Allman Brothers Band their first gold record by October of that year.
Sadly, Duane Allman wouldn't live to see his band continue having success.

Duane Allman performing live in 1971

During a vacation from touring, Duane drove his Harley-Davidson Sportster motorcycle over to "The Big House" from his new home at 1160 Burton Avenue in Macon's West end to help celebrate the birthday of Berry Oakley's wife Elizabeth. After staying for a little while, Duane left and began heading out of Macon, traveling West on Hillcrest Avenue during the early evening hours of October 29, 1971. 

At approximately 5:45 p.m., Duane was driving fast towards the intersection of Hillcrest Avenue and Bartlett Street when a flat-bed truck with a lumber crane attached to it made a sudden right turn onto Bartlett in the opposite lane on Hillcrest and stopped in front of him. According to eyewitnesses who were at the scene, Duane was driving his motorcycle at least 20 miles over the speed limit when the truck turned onto Bartlett from Hillcrest. Duane tried to swerve into the left-hand lane in order to avoid the vehicle, but ended up clipping the back of it and was literally sent flying through the air before hitting the pavement with his motorcycle landing on top of him. Both he and his motorcycle skidded 90 feet before finally coming to a full stop, with Duane pinned underneath it.
Duane was rushed to a nearby hospital with severe internal injuries. Despite the efforts made in trying to save his life, Duane Allman was pronounced dead several hours after arriving at the hospital from the scene of his accident. He was 24 years old.

Whatever his reasons were for traveling on Hillcrest Avenue that particular evening, Duane would never reach his destination.*    

Duane's Harley-Davidson motorcycle after his wreck on
October 29, 1971

Just a little over a year later (November 11, 1972, to be exact), Allman Brothers' bassist Berry Oakley would end up dying of cerebral brain swelling from a skull fracture three hours after crashing his Triumph motorcycle into the side of a city bus as he was entering Macon, Georgia on Napier Avenue. What makes his crash so disturbing is that it took place only two blocks over and 100 yards away from where Duane had his motorcycle accident the previous year. Berry was also 24 years old at the time of his death.
Despite both tragedies, Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band would continue recording albums and touring well into the 1970s, '80s, '90s and into the 21st century, adding new members along the way before finally calling it quits after performing their last concert at New York's Beacon Theater on October 28, 2014---one night before the 43rd anniversary of Duane Allman's death.

Duane Allman and Berry Oakley's grave site at Rose Hill
Cemetery in Macon, Georgia

Just above the banks of the Ocmulgee River in Macon, and past a pair of well-used railroad tracks that wind their way through the city, there are a pair of graves on a hill near the back section of Rose Hill Cemetery enclosed within a wrought-iron, gated fence that face Northward. Within that pair of almost-identical graves are the last human remnants of a legacy which helped put the city of Macon, Georgia on the map of rock music history. It is here that the bodies of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley remain in their final resting place. 
Apart from the Allman Brothers Museum at 2321 Vineville Avenue (a.k.a. "The Big House"), there are no other monuments, markers or statues commemorating the existence of Duane Allman or Berry Oakley in Macon except for a bridge and a highway named after them, along with a small historical marker just to the right-hand side of those two adjoining graves in Rose Hill Cemetery. I guess the fact that the Allman Brothers Band spent time hanging out and writing songs in that cemetery during their early days in Macon is a monument to them in itself. 

It is my hope that at some point in the not-too-distant future, I will be able to visit that grave site. And when I do, I know that I will end up walking away having wiped tears from my eyes and shaken off a cold, bitter chill that will have crept down my spine as I remember Gregg Allman's sad, haunting lyrics that close the song "Melissa" from the Allman Brothers' 1972 album "Eat a Peach", which happened to be Duane's favorite song that Gregg wrote in 1967, and was recorded by the Allman Brothers Band five years later in Duane's memory...

"Crossroads, will you ever let him go?

Will you hide the dead man's ghost? 
Will he lie beneath the clay, 
or will his spirit float away?
But I know that he won't stay
without Melissa."

One more thing: While I'm in Macon, I will also remember to eat a peach for peace.

*According to one account, Duane was driving back to his home on 1160 Burton Avenue to gather presents and a cake to take back to "The Big House" for Elizabeth Oakley's birthday party.