The late Gregg Allman’s upcoming album Southern Blood is a masterpiece, says his manager Michael Lehman.
Allman died on May 27 at the age of 69 after suffering poor health for some time. But he’d continued work on the record over the past few years, and it meant more to him as he realised it would be his final project.
Lehman tells Yahoo!: “It’s composed of a bunch of really cool covers and a couple of original tunes. I can’t say much more – Gregg really wanted to keep tight, and I have to respect his wishes.
“He wanted to surprise his friends and fans. I think it’s a record that everyone’s going to be excited to hear. His vocals are so compelling. Knowing where he was on his life’s journey, it’s just chilling, honestly.
“As we knew his life was coming to a close, we started talking about preserving his legacy. It was my goal to make sure it was a big, special album. It became clear that Gregg wasn’t necessarily going to be able to promote it, even if he was here, and that was something we were prepared for.”
Southern Blood has no official release date yet although it’s expectde in September. It’s available for pre-order via Allman’s website.
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Meanwhile, his family have confirmed that he’ll be buried after a private ceremony in his home town of Macon, Georgia, on June 3 (Saturday). And they’ve said they don’t want people to attend in suits, preferring blue jeans instead.
Devon Allman, Gregg’s son, has said he’s aiming to stage a memorial show on his father’s birthday, December 8. He tells Billboard: “I just want to make sure that his music lives forever and is treated with respect and integrity.
“Once we get through the services, myself and his manager, I told him I had an idea about, on his birthday, having a big celebration of life for him in New York City. A big concert where all his friends can play his songs, donate money to charity and just have a big love-in in his honour. So I think that’s the first step.”
It’s also likely that unreleased material from Allman’s archive will be released in the future.
