Gregory LeNoir Allman was born at Saint Thomas Hospital on December 8, 1947 in Nashville, Tennessee, to Willis Turner Allman (1918-1949) and Geraldine Robbins Allman (1917-2015). The couple had met during World War II in Raleigh, North Carolina, when Allman was on leave from the U.S. Army, and were later married. Their first child, Duane Allman, was born in Nashville in 1946. On December 26, 1949, Willis offered a hitchhiker a ride home and was subsequently shot and killed in Norfolk, Virginia.

After the dissolution of the Allman Brothers, Allman kept busy performing music with his solo band, releasing the live album Gregg Allman Live: Back to Macon, GA in 2015. In 2016, he received an honorary doctorate from Mercer University in Macon, presented by former President Jimmy Carter. However, his health problems remained; he had atrial fibrillation, and though he kept it private, his liver cancer had returned. "He kept it very private because he wanted to continue to play music until he couldn't", his manager Michael Lehman said. He attempted to keep a light schedule at the advice of doctors, who warned that too many performances might amplify his conditions. His last concert took place in Atlanta at his own Laid Back Festival along with ZZ Top at Lakewood Amphitheatre on Saturday October 29, 2016, and he continued to cancel concerts citing "serious health issues". He denied reports that he had entered hospice care, but was resting at home on doctor's orders.  Allman died at his home in Richmond Hill, Georgia, on May 27, 2017, due to complications from liver cancer. He was 69 years old. His funeral took place at Snow's Memorial Chapel in Macon on June 3, and was attended by once-estranged bandmate Dickey Betts, his ex-wife Cher, and former President Carter, among others. According to Rolling Stone, the mourners dressed casually in jeans per Allman's request, and "hundreds of fans, many wearing Allman Brothers shirts and listening to the band's music, lined the route along the funeral procession." He was buried at Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, beside his brother Duane, and fellow band member Berry Oakley.  Before his death, Allman recorded his last album, Southern Blood, with producer Don Was at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The album was recorded with his then-current backing band. The album was released on September 8, 2017, and received critical acclaim.  In My Cross to Bear, Allman reflected on his life and career:  Music is my life's blood. I love music, I love to play good music, and I love to play music for people who appreciate it. And when it's all said and done, I'll go to my grave and my brother will greet me, saying, "Nice work, little brother--you did all right." I must have said this a million times, but if I died today, I have had me a blast.

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