'Skydog: The Duane Allman Story' now in stores

Duane Allman was obsessed with the guitar at first sight. After sharing a Fender Musicmaster with his brother, Gregg, in late-1960, his mother finally bought him his very own cherry-red, 1959 Gibson Les Paul Junior and the rest, as they say, is history.

At age 21, after years of playing, touring and recording in bands with his brother, Gregg, Allman had the grit, vision and confidence to set out on his own and supported some of the most talented musicians of the era.

"You need a guitar player? I'm your man," he told musicians recording at Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama. He backed up everyone from Wilson Pickett and Aretha Franklin to Eric Clapton and Boz Scaggs. That's Allman playing the opening riff on Clapton's "Layla."

Now, his life and tragic death are told in the paperback edition of Randy Poe's definitive biography, Skydog: The Duane Allman Story, released in stores Oct. 1.

The book is a great read on the man who was born in Daytona Beach, Fla., and was raised on a full range of Southern music - gospel, soul, blues, R&B, rock-n-roll, country and jazz - and it influenced everything he did in what would become an amazing career.

With the Allman Brothers Band, the brother duo helped define Southern rock and Duane Allman was revered by his peers for his amazing skills and passionate guitar playing. His live performances were legendary.

Skydog us about an uncompromising and superior musician who believed in himself and his music. All he needed was his guitar. Allman's story is one of music channeled through pure soul and his amazing story tragically ended in a 1971 motorcycle accident. He was just 24.

Written by Grammy nominee and award-winning author Poe, this new book reveals the complete story of this complex personality in hundreds of hours of interviews with those who knew Allman best.

A great music book inspires readers to put on the music again and Skydog is no exception.