美国国家公共电台 NPR Influential Voice In Southern Rock, Gregg Allman Dies At 69

 

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

In 1969, Gregg Allman and his older brother Duane Allman formed The Allman Brothers Band. It was one of the era's most popular concert bands. Gregg Allman's signature bluesy² voice and his skills on the keyboard made The Allman Brothers one of the most influential³ groups in southern rock with classics like "Midnight Rider," "Melissa" and "Whipping Post." Gregg Allman died today at his home in Savannah, Ga., at 69 years old. Joining us to tell us more about him is music journalist Amanda Petrusich. Welcome. Thank you so much for speaking with us.

AMANDA PETRUSICH: Thank you so much for having me.

MARTIN: What made him such an influential figure?

PETRUSICH: Well, one of the things that I think is most remarkable⁴ about The Allman Brothers - The Allman Brothers Band and, of course, Gregg is that they were founded in Macon, Ga., in 1969. The band's original drummer, the great Jaimoe Johanson, was black, and the other five members of the group were these skinny, long-haired hippies who wore bellbottoms and silver jewelry⁵ and unbuttoned their shirts too far and had grown up listening to soul and rhythm and blues¹ records.

So for me, the idea that a band like this existed and thrived in a small southern town at the end of the 1960s is just truly remarkable. I mean, even independent of all of the incredible things that they did musically, it was just such an act of dissent⁶ from the start. And what's funny, I think, is that the Allmans were so instrumental in the genesis of what we now call southern rock - you know, a genre⁷ that's associated perhaps unfairly with Confederate flags and pickup⁸ trucks and all this sort of iconography that suggests, you know, an unwelcoming or an outdated⁹ worldview - that it's easy to forget they were revolutionary inclusive at the time.

You know, I mean, 1969, it's a year after Martin Luther King was assassinated¹⁰. It's, you know, a time in which many American school districts had yet to be desegregated. So while their musical legacy¹¹ is vast and I think Gregg's work as a musician, you know, will be remembered and re-remembered in the days to come, this is such an important part of their history, too, for me.

MARTIN: Thank you so much for telling us about this. I mean, we only have a couple of seconds left. Tell us what the song that you must listen to. What's the one song, if you miss any other, what you have to - what do you have to hear?

PETRUSICH: Sure. For me it's "Whipping Post." I mean, Gregg wrote some amazing songs, but I think that's the one.

MARTIN: All right. That's music journalist Amanda Petrusich joining us from her home in Brooklyn, N.Y., talking about musician Gregg Allman, who died today at the age of 69 in Savannah, Ga. Amanda, thank you so much for speaking with us.

PETRUSICH: Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIDNIGHT RIDER")

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: (Singing) Silver dollar. But I'm not going to let them catch me, no, not going to let them catch the...

1 blues   

n.抑郁，沮丧；布鲁斯音乐

参考例句：

• She was in the back of a smoky bar singing the blues.她在烟雾弥漫的酒吧深处唱着布鲁斯歌曲。
• He was in the blues on account of his failure in business.他因事业失败而意志消沉。

2 bluesy   

adj.布鲁斯乐的（一种摇摆乐）

参考例句：

• As a teenager I was obsessed ragtime, and bluesy guitar guys like Johnny Winter. 当我十几岁的时候我迷上了雷鬼，和JohnnyWinter那样的布鲁斯吉他手。 来自互联网
• Lips Accentuate your new bluesy beat in simply sensational LipSlicks Hint of Mauve. 为了强调新布鲁斯乐的节奏，涂上紫红色的唇彩是最自然的。 来自互联网

3 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

7 genre   

n.(文学、艺术等的)类型，体裁，风格

参考例句：

• My favorite music genre is blues.我最喜欢的音乐种类是布鲁斯音乐。
• Superficially,this Shakespeare's work seems to fit into the same genre.从表面上看， 莎士比亚的这个剧本似乎属于同一类型。

8 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

9 outdated   

adj.旧式的，落伍的，过时的；v.使过时

参考例句：

• That list of addresses is outdated,many have changed.那个通讯录已经没用了，许多地址已经改了。
• Many of us conform to the outdated customs laid down by our forebears.我们许多人都遵循祖先立下的过时习俗。

10 assassinated   

v.暗杀( assassinate的过去式和过去分词 )；中伤；诋毁；破坏

参考例句：

• The prime minister was assassinated by extremists. 首相遭极端分子暗杀。
• Then, just two days later, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. 跟着在两天以后，肯尼迪总统在达拉斯被人暗杀。 来自辞典例句

11 legacy   

n.遗产，遗赠；先人(或过去)留下的东西

参考例句：

• They are the most precious cultural legacy our forefathers left.它们是我们祖先留下来的最宝贵的文化遗产。
• He thinks the legacy is a gift from the Gods.他认为这笔遗产是天赐之物。