How Gregg Allman Helped Influence Warren Haynes’ New Album

Gregg Allman and Warren Haynes shared a bond for a long time, even before they knew each other.

“Gregg was one of my favorite singers forever,” Haynes tells UCR now. “Even before I picked up a guitar, I was a fan of Gregg’s voice. Once I started playing guitar, I became a huge fan of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts‘ guitar playing, but it was Gregg’s voice hat pulled me into that music in the first place and his songwriting style.”

As Haynes details in the conversation below, the presence and influence of Allman, who passed away in 2017, continues to be felt each day in a variety of ways. As he was working on his newest solo album, Million Voices Whisper, it was a song that Allman had never completed that served as the catalyst for some of the other music that followed.

Haynes reunited with his longtime Allman Brothers Band bandmate Derek Trucks to work on the unfinished Allman track initially and the pair ended up finishing a total of four songs together for Million Voices Whisper. Other longtime associates, including keyboardist John Medeski, also brought their musical talents into the mix. The resulting record is arguably Haynes’ strongest to date.

Some of the songs, like “From Here on Out” and “Day of Reckoning,” as he shares, were written during the pandemic. Yet the entire album plays out as a hopeful soundtrack for listeners who might be encountering it now during the current challenges of the present.

During a recent conversation with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights, Haynes shared some stories behind the album’s creation, as well as some thoughts about the final Allman Brothers Band concert, 10 years later.

One of the things that came out recently is the audio of the final Allman Brothers Band show from 2014. You put together the set list that night, sticking to songs from the first six albums. What was your methodology?
I think we were mostly just thinking from a historical context what songs we wanted to represent the final show. You know, we had been talking for, actually, at that point, two or three years, about going out on top, and at a time when the band was was still firing on all cylinders — and picking the right location, the right time and place to to call it quits. The set list, I think was really just about making the most impactful, timeless statement we could. I got a lot of feedback and input from various members of the band, especially Derek.

Derek and I collaborated on the set lists in the last few years [of the band] quite a bit. You know, it sounds like an easy [task], but at that point, we had made a practice of playing a different show every night. So when we would do the Beacon for 14 or 15 nights, we wanted every night to be different, but still stand on its own. That wasn’t always an easy thing to do and we had a lot of special guests joining us. But we knew for that night, we wanted it to be just us. So putting together a set list that we would all be proud of, that was representative of the band at its finest was important.

Listen to the Allman Brothers Band Perform ‘Midnight Rider’ at Their Final Concert in 2014

You and I have talked about many of the various members in the past. But you’re a guy who spent a lot of time playing with Butch Trucks and Jaimoe. What was special about the dynamic those two guys had?
The way Butch and Jaimoe played together was extremely unique and special. Largely, because their styles were so different. Jaimoe is a much more soft touch, jazz style player. Butch is a harder hitting freight train kind of drummer. I think that’s what made it work. You know, the two styles meshed. Of course, I wasn’t around in the beginning. But they talked about it being kind of an unspoken thing. It just happened naturally and they didn’t have to talk about it. The way they tuned their drums and everything was so different. Jaimoe just sounded like an extension of Butch, rather than two people doing the same thing.

What set the tone for this new album?
You know, that’s a good question. Some of these songs go back to the COVID lockdown, things like “From Here on Out,” “Day of Reckoning” and “Go Down Swinging” were all written during that time period and go that far back. The rest of them, for the most part, were written in the last two or three years. That being said, the oldest song is “Real, Real Love,” that Gregg Allman had started and never finished. After I finished writing that song, I called Derek and said, “Hey, I just finished this song that Gregg started writing. I really love it. I think we should record it together.” That turned into, “Hey, maybe we should go in the studio and do several songs together.” Which led to, “Let’s do some writing.” So Derek and I wrote “These Changes” and “Hall of Future Saints” together. The whole process kind of led to the overall product, I think.

Listen to Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks Perform ‘Real, Real Love’

What were the challenges for you when it came to getting “Real, Real Love” right in the image of the way you were hearing it as far as how Gregg would have done it?
You know, just keeping in mind what his vision of the song would have been — or what we’re guessing it would have been. For example, bringing the horn section in for that, I just know for a fact that he’d say, “Oh, we need horns on this.” Gregg loved working with horn sections. All of the way down to the way I approached it from a vocal standpoint and lyrically as well, I’ve never done something that was quite so focused on somebody else’s personality. I wanted to honor the song as if he were part of it. You know, his spirit was definitely in the room when we were doing it.

We were talking about Gregg’s solo version of “Midnight Rider” here in the office the other day. He seemed to have an interesting ability to reconsider his own work as well.
Yeah, absolutely. He did that several times and the reinterpretations were always really different and stood on their own. In some ways, I prefer the Laid Back version of “Midnight Rider.” They’re both fantastic, but that version is haunting.

It seems like it would have been an emotional thing working on “Real, Real Love.”
It was very emotional. It came together really quickly when I first started writing it and that’s usually a good sign. That’s something Gregg and I talked about a lot — when a song comes quickly, you’re very thankful for it. Because they don’t always and it doesn’t mean better or worse. Some of the best songs take a long time, but some of them come instantly and that one kind of did. There was a lot of inspiration. But, [as I mentioned], his presence was very much felt throughout that whole process. The fact that we’re all in the room together recording and Derek and I are looking at each other in the same room while we’re recording, amde all of the difference in the world.

How did you end up writing with Booker T. Jones for “Sailin’ Shoes?”
You know, Booker T. and I wrote the tune together when I was out in L.A. for the Grammys a few years ago and it was a wonderful opportunity. We’ve been casual friends for a while, but it just fell into place. He has an apartment in L.A. and I went by there. We spent a few hours together and the next thing you know, that tune was born. I got to see him again recently when we did the [shows] for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday and we talked about it a bit. I’m just such a fan. He’s a beautiful human being and such an amazing part of American musical history.

You’ve been on the road with a lot of cool folks as part of the Life is a Carnival tour. In particular, what’s it been like playing with Benmont Tench and Mike Campbell?
Both of those guys are fantastic musicians and sweethearts as human beings. It’s been a lot of fun. You know, Mike Campbell and the Dirty Knobs did a tour with Gov’t Mule a couple of years ago and that was really fun. Benmont and I have played together a handful of times here and there. He’s just one of those rare eloquent Southern keyboard players that has such a handle on the history of American music. He’s drawing from so many different pools and can play so many different genres. But it all has this natural flow that is so musical and always seems to serve the song. Mike Campbell is the same in a similar way. You know, Mike always manages to play some memorable hook that becomes a part of the song. I love both of those guys.

I appreciate what you’re doing with the upcoming benefit show at Madison Square Garden. You’ve always been good about using your music to help others going through hard times. I know for you personally, Asheville got hit hard this time around.
Asheville and all of Western North Carolina were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Of course, my family is still there and tons of close friends. Most of them relocated and a lot of them, mostly, are back now. But a lot of them just got power and cell service and in some cases, still don’t have drinking water. It’s just been devastating, but everybody’s safe and sound, so that’s great news. But it’s going to be a long process. It’s going to take years to rebuild. So the least we can do is try to raise as much money for the cause as possible.