Butch Trucks, Drummer and Founding Member of The Allman Brothers Band, Dies at 69

The Allman Brothers Band co-founder Butch Trucks has passed away at the age of 69.

No cause of death has yet been revealed for Trucks, who played drums alongside Jai "Jaimoe" Johnny Johanson throughout the Allmans' 46-year on-and-off history. He died Tuesday evening (Jan. 24) in West Palm Beach, Fla.


Trucks told Billboard last year that he "was a good drummer and didn't know it" when the late Duane Allman approached him to be in the band, crediting Allman with bringing him out of his shell and into rock 'n' roll stardom.


"I was about to head back to school and get a degree in math and teach...when Duane knocked on my door with Jaimoe, and then the Allman Brothers happened," Trucks recalled. "Duane decided he wanted two drummers -- he told Jaimoe, 'If James Brown can have two drummers, so can I!' -- and Jaimoe kept telling me, 'Butch is your guy. Butch is the guy!'"


He continued, "We had all these jams, and I think Duane decided that he was gonna find out what I was made of...It's like he reached inside of me and flipped a switch and this light went off in me and said, 'Dammit, you're a good drummer!' Once I started doing that Duane said, 'OK, he's got it in him' and he added me to the mix and changed my life forever."


Trucks was born Claude Hudson Trucks in Jacksonville, Fla. and played in local bands such as the Vikings, the Echoes and the Bitter Ind, along with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and the Jacksonville Symphonette and ensembles at Florida State University, where he studied. After the Allmans' retired for good (supposedly) in 2014, Trucks formed Les Brers with Allmans with Jaimoe, Allmans percussionist Marc Quinones former Allmans guitarist Jack Pearson and Lamar Williams Jr., son of the late Allmans bassist, to continue playing the band's music.


Trucks' nephew Derek Trucks played with the Allmans from 199-2014, while another nephew and Derek's younger brother Duane Trucks plays with Widespread Panic and Hard Working Americans. Butch Trucks' oldest son, Vaylor, is part of the Yeti Trio.


Trucks is the third member of the original Allmans to pass away: Duane Allman died after a 1971 motorcycle crash at the age of 24, and bassist Berry Oakley was killed in a similar accident at the same age less than 13 months later. Trucks was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the band in 1994.


Other musicians began reacting as word of Trucks' death spread Wednesday morning. Jason Isbell was among the first, tweeting, "Awfully sad to hear of the passing of Butch Trucks. A deserving legend with a family full of ridiculously talented and truly sweet people."


Trucks' wife, four children, four grandchildren and all of the (most recent) Allman Brothers Band members, their families and road crew survive Butch. The Trucks and Allman Brothers Band families request all of Butch's friends and fans to please respect our privacy at this time of sadness for our loss. Butch will play on in our hearts forever.

I know NOTHING about the Allman brothers other than having heard the name before....but never like to see anyone die...RIP

RIP
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KingEleven said:

I know NOTHING about the Allman brothers other than having heard the name before....but never like to see anyone die...RIP

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What??? One of the greatest bands !

never got into this band at all here, i do think greg either dated or was married to cher i think

ckid said:

never got into this band at all here, i do think greg either dated or was married to cher i think

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Yes Gregg was married to Cher.

Saw Gregg in St. Pete about 85 or 86 on his I'm no Angel tour.

BTO opened for him and some one from Tampa that played the guitar with his teeth.

Johnny Lyons????

• Butch Trucks suffered a gun shot wound to the head and died Tuesday in his waterfront condo in West Palm Beach, Florida at the age of 69
• A woman caller who is unidentified on the transcript but described as 'hysterical' dialed 911 at 6:02 p.m.
• The dispatcher noted his wife Melinda witnessed Trucks pulling the trigger
• Although he was breathing when police arrive, Trucks expired seconds later

Butch Trucks, the gifted drummer who co-founded classic rock's Allman Brothers Band, died after he shot himself in front of his wife of 25 years, according to police records obtained exclusively by Dailymail.com.
The 69-year-old rocker's entourage and police in West Palm Beach, where Trucks died Tuesday night, have tried to keep the cause of his death hidden from the public and millions of fans.
But the transcript of a frantic call made to West Palm Beach Police about 6:00 p.m. Tuesday provides the awful details of the drummer's death at home in the downtown waterfront Villa Del Lago complex.
A woman caller who is unidentified on the transcript but described as 'hysterical' dialed 911 at 6:02 p.m., the transcript shows.
The police dispatcher reported the woman saying her 'husband just shot himself' with a pistol.
The caller used Trucks' real first name, Claude, when she identified the victim.
As several squad cars rolled toward the apartment building, the caller continued talking to the dispatcher although she was so distraught she couldn't speak in complete sentences.
Trucks suffered a gun shot wound to the head, the caller said. At that point, the caller wasn't sure Trucks was still breathing.

The dispatcher then radioed the officers that Trucks' wife, painter Melinda, and a son were waiting for police in the hallway outside the condo. Trucks had two adult children, a daughter and a son, Atlanta-based musician Vaylor Trucks.
The dispatcher noted Melinda witnessed Trucks pulling the trigger.
Although he was breathing when police arrived, the man considered by Rolling Stone magazine as one of the top 10 drummers in rock history expired seconds later as the dispatcher concluded the call by noting a 'Signal 7,' police code for a dead person.
Police refused to comment but put out a statement confirming that Trucks died in his condo, and investigators did not suspect foul play despite the fact the incident officially still is under investigation.

What a bizarre incident:

[FONT=&quot]The Miami Herald reported the news, citing records showing the 69-year-old drummer shot himself in the head with a pistol inside his condo in West Palm Beach. The event reportedly played out while Trucks' wife of 25 years, painter Melinda Trucks, stood nearby. There is no foul play suspected. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]The police records included a transcript of Melinda Trucks' call to police around 6 p.m. local time that was described as "hysterical," as she struggled to speak in complete sentences.[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]Although Butch Trucks was reportedly breathing when police arrived, he passed away soon after. Currently the Palm Beach County Medical Examiner's Office is performing an autopsy, the results of which won't be known for weeks. [/FONT]