The Allman Brothers Band
An American rock band formed in 1969 in Jacksonville, Florida, by guitarist Duane Allman and his brother, keyboardist and vocalist Gregg. The Allman Brothers Band, recognized as the 'main architects of Southern rock', used elements of hard rock, country rock, and blues rock in their music; they included long improvisations in their live performances. The Allman Brothers Band, already named the best American band to emerge in the last five years by Rolling Stone magazine in 1971, received 11 gold and five platinum records (between 1971 and 2005). In 1995, the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It is ranked #53 on the '100 Greatest Artists of All Time' (2004) list by Rolling Stone magazine, and Duane Allman (who died in a motorcycle crash in 1971) is #2 on the '100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time' list by the same magazine (three other guitarists from the band—Dickey Betts, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks—are also in that same list).