Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul Review – Compelling Portrait of Southern Rocker, Entertaining, A Must See

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Category: Indies, Docs, Foreign Film

Published on Friday, 19 June 2026 10:57

Written by Janet Walker

Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, from Subtext Films, brings to the screen an intimate and candid portrait of singer, songwriter, Gregg Allman, synonymous with his brother, Duane, as the creators of southern rock genre.

In 2014, Gregg Allman sat for an interview, which never aired, and now older, and sober, he takes us on the journey of his life. The documentary, Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, is presented chronologically, and we begin in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1947.

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As we travel the road of his early years, he is always with his older brother, Duane, one year older, and when they were still toddlers, his father, a war hero, was shot and killed. The boys became inseparable, with each trying to one up the other.

As we are told, Gregg spotted a guitar on his neighbor's porch and asked his neighbor if he could teach him to play it. As he tells the story, this old six string guitar fascinated him, and he became mesmerized with the instrument and thirsty for every drop of knowledge and soon he was playing. Once Duane saw Gregg's dedication he wanted to learn also. So, his mother bought them each a guitar, and unbeknownst to her at the time, legends were born.

During this time, the blues in the south was exploding and Gregg and Duane, now The Allman Joys, were formulating their own style, a mix of soul, blues, with a twinge of country. It wasn't until later; they would become known as the creators of the southern rock genre.

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The rock and roll scene was bursting at the time, and by the 1970s, nearly every band who could play a guitar and draw a crowd would be offered a contract. The Allman brothers were playing in the parks, in Atlanta, and drawing huge crowds. Soon, they were offered a deal and arrived in LA.

As Gregg explains, life in LA was just not for them, and soon Duane just left, when it was done it was done, and the record company explained to let them out of their deal, Gregg and the band would need to stay and deliver two albums. As he explains, they did, two, unmemorable albums, and headed back to Georgia, where Duane had hand-picked a group of musicians to form the Allman Brothers band. He told his brother, Gregg, to stay you need to write a song. He penned "Midnight Rider," which eventually became a classic anthem for the band.

Throughout the documentary, we hear more about Allman from his close associates, band members, friends, and fellow musicians, who he knew, worked with and became lifelong friends. We also see from this picture, Gregg Allman, was someone who held his friends close, and kept his circle small.

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Duane Allman, Gregg's muse, older brother, and anchor, died tragically, after a motorcycle accident. Allman stayed at the hospital, with his lifelong friend, "Chank" Middleton, and as the story is told, they were told, he would recover but need a lot of time to recuperate. So, they left, and to cope with the tragedy, got high, and then the knock on the door, a roadie, told them Duane had died.

The moment thrust Gregg into a period of despair, and darkness, as he explains he was mad, mad at the world, mad at his brother for dying, just mad, and mad all the time. To cope, he fell into the abyss of drug and alcohol use. One year later, guitarist Berry Oakley, died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. The Allman Brothers historian, John Lynskey, explained Oakley died when Duane Allman died, and it just took a year to kill him.

Of course, the documentary would not be complete if it didn't reflect on Allman's most famous marriage to Cher, which from those who spoke about it, we understand they loved each other, and at the time, the paparazzi was out-of-control, and to hear Allman tell it, he couldn't wash his car without the media intruding on their lives, and the stress was too much. Allman's last wife, Shannon Williams, which he describes as his first, as it was the first sober relationship, explained the chaos of LA was just too much, for someone who was hiding so much insecurity, and other fears.

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Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, a deeply personal, honest and sincere, portrayal, does more than introduce the man who pioneered Southern Rock, we see someone who confronted the blows that life dealt, until he reached a point where, the excessive addictions which anesthetized him from feeling the pain, humiliated him, and he called on God to help him. It was then that instead of checking into rehab, again, he hired a nurse to stay with him until he detoxed. He explained he never drank again, never smoked again, and never did drugs again. He laid it down and never looked back.

Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul relives the captivating moments in rock and roll history, as the 1970s ushered in these all-day band jams, and hundreds of thousands would gather transported by the sound to a place, where a community of music lovers formed, and remained loyal.

The documentary also provides compelling insight into the rock and roll life, living large on stage, and hiding, unable to really cope with the celebrity fame lifestyle. The marketing idea behind the build-up to flame out, hoping to generate more sales machine. Throughout, we meet his former wives, who speak highly of him, his children, who understand trauma and tragedy more than other generations, and the musicians, Jackson Browne, original Allman Brothers Band guitarist, Dicky Betts, and drummer, Jaimo, and producer Don Was.

Captivating, and personal, Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul, opens exclusively in theaters. It is a must see.

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Country: U.S.

Language: English.

Runtime: 96 minutes.

Director: James Keach.

Producers: Michael Lehman, James Keach, and Alex Komisaruk.

Executive Producers: Douglas Banker, Alexandra Dale, Justin Falvey, Darryl Frank, Michael Hughes, Greg Lake, Brian Levy, Teddy Liouliakis, Robert Stein, Alex Exline.

Featuring: Devon Allman, Galadrielle Allman, Chuck Leavell, Jaimo, Cher, Jackson Browne, Don Was, Chank Middleton, John Lynskey..

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She has also published "Unholy Alliances: A True Crime Story," and "Days, Times, Seasons, and Events: A Collection of Poetry & Prose," which can be purchased here. She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and a member of the International Federation of Journalists.