The Big Museum in Macon, Georgia tells the story of the Allman Brothers band. And what a story it is! A visit here was on my bucket list and by the end of this three-part article, I hope it lands on your bucket list too. Part one detailed the history of the band and toured the first floor of this classic Rock ‘n Roll house museum. If you didn’t read part one, well, part two might not mean much to you, so visit weeklyview.net it to catch up.
My next contact was a lovely young woman named Maggie Johnson. Her official title is Office Manager and Director of Marketing but in my opinion, she could be known as the Angel of the Big House. Maggie, a recent graduate of nearby Mercer University, started out as an intern. Our visit took place exactly a year and a day after she assumed her new position. Obviously, the story of the museum is one of music and the boys in the band. But Maggie is quick to point out that a major part of the Big House story centers around the women who lived there. After all, the ABB was performing 300 gigs a year while they lived at 2321 Vineville Avenue and it was the girls who stayed behind that kept the home fires burning.
In January of 1970, Linda Oakley rented the house for ABB bassist Berry and her to live in while the band worked and recorded at nearby Capricorn Records. The first to live in the Big House were Berry, Linda, and their daughter Brittany, Duane Allman, his lady Donna and their daughter Galadrielle, Berry’s sister Candy Oakley and Gregg Allman. So at first, the girls out numbered the boys 5 to 3. Maggie explained that it was Linda who bluffed her way into the stately mansion by downplaying her musical ties and adopting the persona of a young wife and mother interested in the home to raise her young family. Linda was dazzled and enchanted by the large, three-story Grand Tudor house on a double lot surrounded by gardens, fountains and a fishpond in the backyard. The big sunny light-filled rooms had high ceilings, stained glass windows, fireplaces, a crystal chandelier and French doors. Built in 1900, it was a palace.
Maggie related how, despite it’s lofty $200 per month price tag (about $2,000 today), Linda wanted it badly. The boys in the band had all been living separately around Macon in tiny little apartments going for $50 per month. Gregg Allman once told a reporter that he saw his first dead body in the hallway of one of those dingy apartment buildings. Linda thought surely this would be a better alternative for the boys to pool their resources and move up in the world. Maggie laughed as she related how, in the end, they would all lean on Duane to make up the difference as she pointed to the first rent check in a nearby case. Drawn on Duane’s account, that first check reveals that he paid $175 of that first month’s $225 rent. After all, Duane (a.k.a. Skydog) was the shining star of the band and a much sought after (and well compensated) session guitarist whose considerable talents were in high demand.
We made our way up to the second floor of the Big House and soon learned that while the first floor tells the story of the band, the second floor tells the story of the people who lived there. As we began to ascend the “Gone with the Wind” looking stairway, “Not Cher” (Beth Cain) reminded us to pay close attention to Candy Oakley’s room. Candy was Berry’s sister and Gregg Allman’s girlfriend when they first moved into the house. Beth told us that when Gregg and Candy broke up, Candy began living with ABB roadie Kim Payne and when that relationship fizzled out Candy hooked up with ABB drummer Jai Johanny Johanson. “That was the magic room,” said Beth with a wry smile.
At the top of the landing is a showcase devoted to the Allman Brothers’ extended family, featuring a diecut panoramic group photo of the band surrounded by all of their associates and family members, all of whom were in the house at one time or another. The first stop on the guided tour begins with Duane Allman’s room arranged as it was when Skydog lived there. Above the fireplace is a classical painting of a nude woman tastefully posed that is sure to elicit a giggle from anyone who gazes upon it. Peaking out from under Duane’s bed is a guitar case, just as you might imagine. Duane’s Gibson Les Paul Jr. guitar rests in the glassed-off closet along with photos of Duane on the shelf above it.
Next comes Berry and Linda’s room with the attached bedroom of their daughter Brittany. Inside the closet are mementos from the Oakley’s including a pair of embroidered jeans once worn by Berry back in the day. Assorted bric-a-brac not unlike items that seemed to populate all of our 1970s bedrooms decorate the space. Some are easily associated with the family, some not, like the small pinback button from the Macon Whoopee hockey team that is sure to sprout a whimsical smile. Brittany’s bedroom is an explosion of bright colors evocative of that era. Highlights of Brittany’s room include her original doll house and the yellow dress she wore on the back cover of ABB’s album “Brothers and Sisters.”
The Casbah Lounge is a must see. This is the room where the band’s album collections and stereo were kept and faithfully listened to during times of fraternal relaxation and reflection. This room also contains the legendary walk-in shower adorned with seven shower heads. Legend claims that this shower was often used two-at-a-time and sometimes, according to Beth Cain, “more people than that.” The room also has an outdoor sleeping porch which I personally always find infinitely interesting for the romantic image it evokes.
Finally, there is Candy Oakley’s room. If you are a fan of Gregg Allman, this room, like his brother Duane’s, is sure to provoke instant images for your imagination. This room contains relics and instruments from band members, but for Beth Cain’s colorful description of what surely went on in here, it could easily be overlooked.
One of the side rooms, formerly used as the nursery for Duane’s daughter Galadreille, is a tribute to the ABB roadies. It is now an accumulation of typical, yet extraordinary, behind-the-scenes memorabilia one might expect from years of touring. My personal favorite was a case full of hundreds of hotel and motel room keys that most certainly represent every region of this country. Heck, in this swiper keycard world we live in, things like this are easily forgotten. It’s kind of like seeing a pay phone, 45 rpm record or a pull tab from a pop top can, familiar yet strange nonetheless.
What I will carry with me from that second floor visit is the eerily important, otherworldly background sounds that form the soundtrack for every visitor. When you enter Duane’s room you are surrounded by Skydog himself talking casually to a reporter from some long ago radio show. He talks about music, guitars and life as he knew it, just like you might wish for. In Berry Oakley’s room, you are greeted with the same soundtrack coming from the ABB bassist himself. Beth Cain later informed us that when they first set up the vintage stereo in that room, a visitor to the Big House pointed out that it was not authentic to the era. That same visitor later returned with a more appropriate stereo system to replace it, one that dated from around 1970-71 just like the boys might have listened to back in the day.
Our tour concluded back down in the kitchen, the scene of so much ABB history and one of the most active rooms in the house. It was in this kitchen that Dickey Betts wrote “Ramblin’ Man” back in 1971. In my opinion, should you ever desire to hear a song that best exemplifies what Southern Rock means to music history, this is it. I believe Gregg Allman’s vocals on that track are among the best ever recorded. A blue upright piano dominated the room, just like the one that Berry Oakley purchased at a church yard sale for ten dollars way back when.
It was in the kitchen where our tour came full circle. Rhonda and I were joined by Maggie Johnson, Richard Brent, Beth Cain and a knowledgeable newcomer named Rex Dooley. Rex is a volunteer at the Big House and also a tour guide for Rock Candy tours in Macon. He graciously offered to take my wife and I on a personal tour of Macon that very minute, but unfortunately our schedule would not allow it.
For a few brief, yet exciting moments, we were privileged to participate in a free flowing conversation about the House and the people who lived there. It was the perfect capper to an exceptional visit. We were surrounded by the perfect combination of people each playing a specific role for that museum. Richard Brent looked every bit the part of the Southern Rocker/Tour Manager. I was not at all surprised when Rex informed me that Mr. Brent co-hosts his own Macon radio show called “The Whipping Post” on 100.9 FM “The Creek.” Brent, ever the modest gentle giant, sheepishly replied, “Yeah, we get together and talk about all things Allman Brothers and play cuts from old concerts.”
Beth Cain, the “Not Cher” gal that greets visitors to the Big House is a dead ringer for Cher, which is ironic when you consider Gregg and Cher were married from 1975 to 1979. Beth, herself a rock ‘n roll veteran, arrived in Macon after the ABB vacated the Big House. She is always eager to share her own personal experiences and insights with visitors. She makes sure that visitors understand the deeper significance to the items on display and is quick to remind people that they are walking on the original floors, through the original doorways and up the same staircases that were in place during the Allman Brothers 1970-73 occupation of the structure.
Rex Dooley is a walking encyclopedia of the city of Macon, Georgia. A fountain of information and trivia, his every observation designed to enhance whatever subject is being discussed. Rex pointed out that the house was once home to Georgia Governor Nathaniel Harris. Rex delights in telling us that during Harris’ tenure as Governor (1915-1917), he signed Prohibition into state law, outlawing alcohol. Considering the hard partying reputation of 1970s Southern Rockers (including the ABB), Rex found that fact unceasingly ironic.
Rex pointed to the living room and noted that Dickey Betts was sitting there in the window seat while he wrote the Allman Brothers’ standard “Blue Sky.” “You know the lyric ‘Good old Sunday morning, bells are ringing everywhere’?” asked Rex. “Look out the window and you’ll see the church right across the street. You can imagine the church bells ringing while he’s writing.” He continued, “The Allman Brothers traveled in an old Winnebago motor home they called the Windbag. The church let the boys park it in their parking lot between tours. So every tour started and ended in a church.”
Rex’s Rock Candy tours highlight all of the sites associated with the ABB and other legendary musicians that also called Macon home: Otis Redding, James Brown, Little Richard and many more. Rex noted, “We used to have a Pig ‘N Whistle drive up restaurant in Macon. At one time Otis Redding, Little Richard and playwright Tennessee Williams all worked as carhops there.” Can you imagine that? Oh yes, when I come back, I WILL be taking one of Rex Dooley’s tours!
Maggie Johnson rounded out that impromptu panel. In my mind, Maggie plays an important part in the story of the Big House and it’s a role she may not even know she’s playing. Maggie is young. Too young to remember the days of Duane and Berry’s place in rock history. But she is a perfect representation of the many beautiful young women who formed the foundation of the Big House during those heady days of 1970-73. She is the same age as those sharp witted, elegant rock ‘n roll Southern Belles who kept this place together. The boys would undoubtedly be pleased with her presence here.
The Big House was a place of joy, family and music. But the story of the Big House is not without tragedy, deep sadness and ghosts. We will detail all of these topics next week, in Part 3 of this series.
Next week-Part III of the Allman Brothers Big House
Al Hunter is the author of the “Haunted Indianapolis” and co-author of the “Haunted Irvington” and “Indiana National Road” book series. His newest books are “Bumps in the Night. Stories from the Weekly View” and “Irvington Haunts: The Tour Guide.” Contact Al directly at Huntvault@aol.com or become a friend on Facebook.
