Macon memories of Gregg Allman run deep

After the death of Allman Brothers Band co-founder Gregg Allman, we asked readers to share memories of any interactions they had with him while he lived in Macon. Here’s a sampling of the responses we received:

From 1973 to 1975 as a young teenager, I used to bag his and Cher’s groceries at the ... Bateman & Wade grocery store on Rogers Avenue in the Pleasant Hill neighborhood. No matter how much or how many bags I carried to his green Buick with the wood-grain-on-the-sides station wagon, Gregg and Cher always gave me a $7 tip. On one occasion while taking their groceries to the car, Gregg gave me the ... “Eat A Peach” album. My favorite song on that album was “Dreams.” I don’t have that album anymore due to me moving from home and leaving it there, along with other albums that I lost, but will always remember the conversations we had at the grocery store and the encouragement he and Cher gave me after they learned that I had lost my mother in the summer of 1973.

In 1969, the city of Macon had 15 people on City Council, and not one cared about recreation. I, along with some high school students and a few that were just wanting to help, created a program called the Macon Youth Club. In September of that year we were put in touch with Mrs. Otis Redding as well as Alan and Phil Walden. Wow, walking into that studio of offices on Cotton Avenue was a trip in itself. ... Our group told them we wanted to put on a concert at the City Auditorium in Macon. We wanted to help raise money so we could bring awareness to the big recreation problem. Phil Walden said he would help. They put together two bands to play that evening. One was a local band, Asa Howard and the Boogie Chillun,’ and a band they had signed from Florida. They were called the Allman Brothers. Never heard of them at the time. ... We had radio spots on stations in Macon and Atlanta. The big night was upon us. We were having press conferences and getting the attention on recreation we looked for. We placed posters all over wanting people to come. The night of the big show, Asa Howard came to me and said “You guys misspelled Allman.” I said “What?,” and sure enough it was. It was printed “Allmand Brothers Band with the Boogie Chillun.’ ” Of course kids in Atlanta knew of the Brothers. We had more people from Atlanta than Macon to come that night. The poster is on display at the Big House on Vineville Avenue in Macon. I saw Gregg again in the ‘70s. I was surprised he remembered the night Macon rocked. He visited other times after he left for good, but truth is, I will never forget meeting him and the group as well as Mrs. Redding.

I was at a Capricorn Records picnic and was standing in line to get a drink. I noticed the person in front of me had long, blond hair. He was very tall, as I’m just 5 feet 2 inches. I realized it was Gregg Allman and put my hand against his back. He turned and looked at me. I said, “Oh my gosh! You’re Gregg Allman.” Suddenly, someone at the front of the line yelled to him and motioned for him to go to the front. He was gone before I could say anything else, but I was thrilled! It was the last Capricorn picnic, I think ’78 or ’79. The band had broken up and it was rumored they would be there that day. I saw him in line before they took the stage and announced they were getting back together. It’s a memory I’ll always treasure.

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 1:18 PM with the headline "Macon memories of Gregg Allman run deep."