In 1973, the Allman Brothers Band reached a commercial height that would never be duplicated.
Brothers and Sisters, the band’s fourth studio album, hit No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart in September 1973 and remained there for five weeks. It knocked Chicago’s Chicago VI out of the top spot before eventually giving way to the Rolling Stones’ Goats Head Soup.
The achievement was remarkable not only because Brothers and Sisters became the Allman Brothers Band’s biggest album, but because of everything the group had endured before making it.
Rolling Stone would later describe the Allmans as the “first great jam band,” praising the way they combined traditional blues with their own strain of rock ‘n’ roll and pushed improvisational music into previously unexplored territory.
But by the time Brothers and Sisters arrived, the band responsible for that groundbreaking sound had been profoundly changed.
The Allman Brothers Band Rebuilt After Two Devastating Losses
Founding guitarist and bandleader Duane Allman died in a motorcycle crash in October 1971. The band continued without him, releasing Eat a Peach in 1972, but another tragedy followed just over a year after Duane’s death.
Bassist Berry Oakley died following a motorcycle accident in November 1972. Oakley had already participated in the early Brothers and Sisters sessions, playing bass on “Wasted Words” and “Ramblin’ Man.”
Rather than attempt to replace Duane with another lead guitarist, the Allmans changed their musical architecture. Lamar Williams joined on bass, while Chuck Leavell’s piano became increasingly important to the group’s sound. Dickey Betts also emerged as the band’s de facto leader and took on a larger songwriting role.
That evolution helped push Brothers and Sisters toward the country-influenced sound that would produce the band’s biggest single.
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‘Ramblin’ Man’ Almost Didn’t Sound Enough Like the Allman Brothers
Betts wrote and sang “Ramblin’ Man,” but its country flavor initially made the band hesitant to record it.
“We knew it was a good song but it didn’t sound like us,” drummer Butch Trucks recalled, according to Alan Paul’s book “One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band.”
Luckily, they recorded it anyway.
“Ramblin’ Man” became the Allman Brothers Band’s first and only Top 10 hit, climbing all the way to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100. Rock critic Dave Marsh called it “the closest real blues slide guitar has come to topping the chart” in his book “The Heart of Rock & Soul.”
And there was another future rock-radio staple waiting on the album.
Betts conceived the instrumental “Jessica” as an experiment inspired by Django Reinhardt, attempting to create a melody that could be played using only two fingers. When his young daughter Jessica entered the room and began bouncing to the music, Betts used her energy as inspiration and named the piece after her.
‘Brothers and Sisters’ Became the Allmans’ Commercial Peak
Released Aug. 6, 1973, Brothers and Sisters took off immediately.
The record went gold in retail sales within 48 hours of shipping and sold approximately 760,000 copies in its first three weeks. Billboard reportedly dubbed it the “success story of the summer.”
It ultimately spent five weeks at No. 1 and has sold more than 7 million copies worldwide.
For a band that had lost two foundational members in barely a year, Brothers and Sisters could easily have been the sound of something ending.
Instead, it became the biggest album of their career.
Related: ’70s ‘Guitar Legend,’ Who Powered the Allman Brothers’ Biggest Hit, Turns 74