Please Be With Me

A Song for My Father, Duane Allman

De: Galadrielle Allman

Narrado por: Galadrielle Allman

A deeply personal, revealing, and lyrical portrait of Duane Allman, founder of the legendary Allman Brothers Band, written by his daughter

Galadrielle Allman went to her first concert as an infant in diapers, held in her teenage mother’s arms. Playing was her father—Duane Allman, who would become one of the most influential and sought-after musicians of his time. Just a few short years into his remarkable career, he was killed in a motorcycle accident at the age of twenty-four. His daughter was two years old.

Galadrielle was raised in the shadow of his loss and his fame. Her mother sought solace in a bohemian life. Friends and family found it too painful to talk about Duane. Galadrielle listened intently to his music, read articles about him, steeped herself in the mythic stories, and yet the spotlight rendered him too simple and too perfect to know. She felt a strange kinship to the fans who longed for him, but she needed to know more. It took her many years to accept that his life and his legacy were hers, and when she did, she began to ask for stories—from family, fellow musicians, friends—and they began to flow.

Galadrielle Allman’s memoir is at once a rapturous, riveting, and intimate account of one of the greatest guitar prodigies of all time, the story of the birth of a band that redefined the American musical landscape, and a tender inquiry of a daughter searching for her father in the memories of others.

Praise for Please Be with Me

“Duane Allman was my big brother, my partner, my best friend. I thought I knew everything there was to know about him, but Galadrielle’s deep and insightful book came as a revelation to me, as it will to everyone who reads it.”—Gregg Allman

“If you have ever been part of a family that has no photograph left behind to record its wholeness, you know what the absence of that picture does to you: Its nonexistence is itself a portrait of an incomplete heart that doesn’t contain you. Galadrielle Allman grew up in the territory of that loss, trying to understand a father who held her but who she never got to hold in return. Her account of the life of Duane Allman—rock and roll’s most lyrical guitarist—is the most moving music biography I’ve ever read. Better than that, Galadrielle has uncovered the heart and motivations, the desolation and saving graces, of the man, and lays it plain in a born-to-write southern voice. She has looked into absence, and from it she has salvaged two hearts: her father’s and her own.”—Mikal Gilmore, author of Shot in the Heart

“ ‘You can live forever inside a goodbye,’ Galadrielle Allman knows. But then you embrace it, explore it, and call forth its witnesses. In lyrical prose, and with love and wisdom, the now-mature daughter of guitar legend Duane Allman, who died at twenty-four when she was two, meditates on his outsized grip on her life, and retraces that life, and her mother’s, sending us to the South at the end of the sixties, when girls were hapless hippie goddesses, music was male and muscular, and even redneck culture was being transformed. But beyond that vibrant portrait is a comfort. We all idealize someone who left us long ago; we all romanticize some memory. This story invites us to savor our own secret intersection of nostalgia and emotional mercy, and it feels very, very good to have soulful, elegant company as we do.”—Sheila Weller, author of the New York Times bestseller Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation

An Personal, Insightful and A Journey of Self-Discovery

This book which is read by the author is a journey of self discovery as much as it is self healing. Learning about your father from his music that was left behind as well as stories told by the musicians, the roadies, family and anyone that knew Duane. Truly painting a picture that hearing his spirit that he poured into his music, writing this book must of been bittersweet. Duane had his flaws as we all do but his love for his only child shines through in this book. I was married to a creative musician that tragically died and this book really touched me in healing ways. My prayer is that this book will touch others in a way that heals and inspires. Thank you Galadrielle for painting a true rich picture of your father.

A daughter's perspective of Skydog

Great insights that only a daughter could have. Remember Duane Allman! Can't help but to listen to his music in between reading this.

Well Written and narrated by Galadrielle

Where does Please Be with Me rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This is probably the best book on the subject of the beginnings of the Allman Brothers and its founder Duane Allman. It is hard to imagine what an artistic genius is much less how one came to be. This story however is so much more than that. It is a heartfelt search by a daughter who set out on a journey to find out who her Dad really was not only as a musical artist but as a father. My emotions went through many highs and lows in this audiobook. After 40 years I appreciate being alive long enough to find out what made Duane Allman tick. The story is both one of victory and heartache for what was and what could have been - the enormous legacy left behind which grew into something almost unimaginable. I too looked up to what Duane Allman was as a guitarist who was a legend to many young guitarists such as I was. I took away with Duane's approach which is simple - the music must always come first and let yourself go in your interpretation of it. Thanks for answering the many questions about Duane Allman I had for all of these years.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Please Be with Me?

How even Duane Allman found it very difficult to merge his musical pursuits with the what he seemed to want for himself in his private life. I was impressed by what Donna Roosman Allman went through and how she managed through the craziness of the band family including the many heartaches she had endured.

What does Galadrielle Allman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

I hear the hurt, the astonishment and some of the frustration she had faced in her search and yearning to be with her Dad whom she really never knew but seems to have found him. The rampant drug use was amazing to me and it appeared to be amazing to the Galadrielle also.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to if that was at all possible

Any additional comments?

I had looked for this book to be converted to an audible book for quite some time. I am very happy that it finally was and it was worth the wait to have Galadrielle narrate it. Well done. I plan to go to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame to see Duane's guitar.

A Beautiful Narrative

I was completely absorbed in this story, which weaves the author's own journey into the story of her iconic father.

LOVED!

I loved the story telling and all the detailed moments. Beautifully written and told. I would read/listen to it again.

A very good listen.

Very well done story about Duane. A lot of deep insight to a brilliant young man taken from this earth way way too young. A lot of direct quotes from the people that he was closest to. I cannot possibly recommend this any higher. If you’re an Allman Brothers band fan and you have not listened to or read this book you simply HAVE TO!!! Extremely good book.

long time fan

Would you listen to Please Be with Me again? Why?

this is a book i would listen to again because there was so much detail.

Who was your favorite character and why?

duane allman was a super talented musician who died much too young. he was a complicated person, not just a star. this book really paints a picture of the whole person, not just the guitar magician.

What about Galadrielle Allman’s performance did you like?

Galadrielle told this story from the heart.

Any additional comments?

This is one of the best books I have read on the Allman Brothers Band and Duane Allman.

Well done

Ms Allman does a remarkable job in talking about her father and her life.
Well done and love the story and insights.
Thank you for sharing!

Powerful story, Beautifully written and read

I really enjoyed this story, more than I expected to even. Here are 4 words

Author is an EXCELLENT writer!

she has a very descriptive style which I usually don’t like, but this brings you to the moment as though you’re in the room with the people involved. She definitely did her research . My only complaint was her Read in a monotone made it Difficult to listen to.  I believe it would be more enjoyable to read the book then to listen. I always enjoy doing my own exploring while reading memoirs and biographies pausing the story and looking up references. I stopped and listened to a few songs and just rented a documentary from the library about the Muscle Shoals recording studio. I definitely recommend the book for any rock historian/fan.