美国国家公共电台 NPR The Ramblin' Blues Of Gregg Allman

 

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

Musician Gregg Allman, founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, has died at age 69. He passed away at his home in Savannah, Ga., after battling liver cancer and other health problems. He had a major role in defining the Southern rock of the 1970s. And in this appreciation¹, NPR's Felix Contreras says Gregg Allman was haunted by a loss that fueled some of the most memorable² music of that era.

FELIX CONTRERAS, BYLINE³: Gregg Allman had one of the most recognizable voices of his generation.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "MIDNIGHT RIDER")

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: (Singing) I've got to run to keep from hiding. And I'm bound to keep on riding.

CONTRERAS: He and his older brother Duane were born in Nashville and raised in northern Florida. They were children of the South with its mix of country, blues⁴, soul and gospel, which they heard on the radio and in the air. Gregg Allman's voice reflected all of those influences, says Alan Light, the co-author of Gregg Allman's autobiography⁵ "My Cross To Bear."

ALAN LIGHT: Growing up in the South at that time, there was a, you know, there was a proximity⁶ to a lot of different kinds of music. There were different influences that enabled you to draw on a spectrum⁷ of different sounds and different emotions that, in other regions of the country, you know, you just wouldn't have been exposed to in the same way.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

CONTRERAS: Gregg was just one year younger than Duane, and they formed a close-knit bond after their father was murdered when Gregg was just 2 years old. In his autobiography, Gregg says the brothers were inseparable and formed various bands as teenagers. But when Duane left behind a lucrative⁸ gig as a session musician, he called his younger brother to join a band with two lead guitarists and two drummers. Then a collection of friends and former bandmates coalesced⁹ into The Allman Brothers Band and a first album in 1969.

LIGHT: You know, he was always so careful, and it was such a priority to him to say that the vision for the music of The Allman Brothers came from his brother, that Duane had an idea for this band. He could see something that nobody - you know, that Gregg couldn't see. And it took sitting down in the room and seeing the caliber¹⁰ of those players and the chemistry between them for him to see what it was that Duane was talking about.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND SONG, "HOT 'LANTA")

CONTRERAS: The band's music has been labeled southern rock given the band's home base in Macon, Ga., but it was much more than that. There were lengthy¹¹ musical explorations that reflected the discipline and dynamics¹² of classical music, the passion of soul and the improvisational¹³ spirit of jazz. And Gregg Allman's contribution was his singing, his songwriting and his chops on the Hammond organ.

(SOUNDBITE OF THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND SONG, "HOT 'LANTA")

CONTRERAS: The Allman Brothers Band history offstage was a bit of a rock 'n' roll soap opera. They experienced the deaths of both Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley within a year of each other. There was substance and alcohol abuse among band members. The pressures of constant touring strained relationships - banishments, illnesses, breakups, reunions. And Gregg Allman was self-admittedly no angel. But his biographer Alan Light says a sense of mortality and loss haunted him and fueled his most powerful writing.

LIGHT: In his house, there were framed notes from Duane, you know, hung on the walls. You know, he surrounded himself with reminders¹⁵ of his family and of that loss. And yet, to get up every night and play in The Allman Brothers Band, when you're the Allman brother who's still there and the other Allman Brother isn't, is a perpetual reminder¹⁴ of that loss.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMS")

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: (Singing) Just one more morning I had to wake up with the blues.

CONTRERAS: While Gregg Allman's death closes a chapter on rock 'n' roll history, perhaps it also means that the Allman brothers are once again making music together. Felix Contreras, NPR News.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "DREAMS")

THE ALLMAN BROTHERS BAND: (Singing) Went up on the mountain to see what I could see. The whole world was falling right down in front of me.

1 appreciation   

n.评价；欣赏；感谢；领会，理解；价格上涨

参考例句：

• I would like to express my appreciation and thanks to you all.我想对你们所有人表达我的感激和谢意。
• I'll be sending them a donation in appreciation of their help.我将送给他们一笔捐款以感谢他们的帮助。

2 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 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。

5 autobiography   

n.自传

参考例句：

• He published his autobiography last autumn.他去年秋天出版了自己的自传。
• His life story is recounted in two fascinating volumes of autobiography.这两卷引人入胜的自传小说详述了他的生平。

6 proximity   

n.接近，邻近

参考例句：

• Marriages in proximity of blood are forbidden by the law.法律规定禁止近亲结婚。
• Their house is in close proximity to ours.他们的房子很接近我们的。

7 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

8 lucrative   

adj.赚钱的，可获利的

参考例句：

• He decided to turn his hobby into a lucrative sideline.他决定把自己的爱好变成赚钱的副业。
• It was not a lucrative profession.那是一个没有多少油水的职业。

9 coalesced   

v.联合，合并( coalesce的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The puddles had coalesced into a small stream. 地面上水洼子里的水汇流成了一条小溪。
• The views of party leaders coalesced to form a coherent policy. 党的领导人的各种观点已统一为一致的政策。 来自辞典例句

10 caliber   

n.能力；水准

参考例句：

• They ought to win with players of such high caliber.他们选手的能力这样高,应该获胜。
• We are always trying to improve the caliber of our schools.我们一直在想方设法提高我们学校的水平。

11 lengthy   

adj.漫长的，冗长的

参考例句：

• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。
• The professor wrote a lengthy book on Napoleon.教授写了一部有关拿破仑的巨著。

12 dynamics   

n.力学，动力学，动力，原动力；动态

参考例句：

• In order to succeed,you must master complicated knowledge of dynamics.要取得胜利，你必须掌握很复杂的动力学知识。
• Dynamics is a discipline that cannot be mastered without extensive practice.动力学是一门不做大量习题就不能掌握的学科。

13 improvisational   

adj. 即兴的

参考例句：

• I have never been at games like charades or improvisational acting. 您从来都唔擅长玩“有口难言”或者“即席表演”之类既游戏。
• I'm practicing self-control, those random and improvisational acts aren't allowed. 我在练习控制自己，那些随意的、即兴的举动是不允许的。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

15 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。