Headed for the Exit

Song 348: This week’s playlist pick is One Way Out by The Allman Brothers Band, written by Elmore James, Marshall Sehorn and Sonny Boy Williamson II. Following last week’s post of a Chuck Berry song to honor him a day after he died, I chose this week’s Allman Brothers track as a way to honor drummer Butch Trucks, who sadly took his own life in late January of this year at the age of 69. When I got on a plane in Chicago on June 10, 1971, I don’t think any of my RnR friends knew anything about the Allman Brothers Band, nor did I, but within days of landing in Atlanta, I was hearing their music a lot, and hearing about them quite a lot. In the middle of that summer, their live LP At the Fillmore hit the airwaves, and justifiably made such a splash that by the time I returned to Chicago in September my RnR friends there also knew all about the Allmans. Following Duane’s tragic death in late October, many of us wondered about the band’s future, but then in February they released a double album that showcased them at their peak. This cut opened side 3 on a very strong rocking note, and made it quite clear just what a talent the RnR world lost on the day Duane died. Now, in early 2017, the RnR world has lost another of the talented crew that created this magical brew, which they recorded live in front of a packed house back in June of 1971. We may never know why Butch Trucks decided to head for the exit, but though he took the One Way Out, gone he is, but he should not be forgotten, and this track is but one of many musical reasons why his memory should live on.