The new documentary Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul opens in theaters Wednesday, giving fans insight into the legendary Allman Brothers Band frontman.
For the film’s producer Michael Lehman, a good friend of the rocker’s, getting Gregg’s life on the big screen was important in order to show fans who he really was.
“The story about Gregg Allman is incredible,” Lehman tells ABC Audio, noting while fans saw Gregg as a rock star, “that’s really not who Gregg was.”
“Gregg was a quiet, shy, Southern gentleman [who] was the furthest thing in his mind from a rock star,” he says. “And I wanted the world to have the opportunity to learn about the man.”
The film’s centered around a previously unseen 2014 interview with Gregg. Lehman says it was shot after he knew he was sick with cancer and was “entering what would be the final stages of his life.”
The film’s director, James Keach, says as a filmmaker, the interview was “pure gold.”
“You get to see Gregg Allman without any secrets,” he says. “He’s at a time in his life [when] he doesn’t have to hide anything. So as an audience, he doesn’t hide anything from us.”
The film delves into the early days of the Allman Brothers, as well as the death of Gregg’s brother and bandmate Duane Allman in 1971, and how that affected the rocker’s life. It also explores Gregg’s many marriages, his addiction problems and what Keach calls the “beautiful redemption” of Gregg cleaning up his life.
It also features interviews with artists like Warren Haynes, Jackson Browne and Jaimoe, the last surviving founding member of the Allman Brothers. Keach calls it “a great tribute” to Gregg.
“I never got the feeling that anybody was ever jealous,” he says. “They were very grateful that they got to play with him.”
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