Following the death of guitarist Dickey Betts in April 2024, Jaimoe became the only surviving member of the band's original lineup, which also included Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, Berry Oakley and fellow drummer Butch Trucks. It's a reality he admits he somehow always expected.
Born John Lee Johnson in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, Jaimoe built his musical foundation playing with soul legends including Otis Redding, Sam & Dave, Joe Tex and Clarence Carter before crossing paths with Duane Allman in famed recording studio Muscle Shoals. Although he dreamed of becoming a jazz drummer, that meeting changed the course of rock history. As one half of the Allman Brothers Band's groundbreaking twin-drum attack alongside Trucks, Jaimoe helped create a sound that blended blues, jazz, country and rock into something entirely new.
That influence wasn't lost on guitarist Warren Haynes, who joined the Allman Brothers Band in 1989.
The band's career was marked by extraordinary highs and devastating losses. Just as At Fillmore East established them as one of America's premier live acts in 1971, Duane Allman was killed in a motorcycle accident. Bassist Oakley died in a remarkably similar accident the following year. Decades later came the deaths of Gregg Allman in 2017, Trucks in 2017 and Betts in 2024, leaving Jaimoe as the final surviving original member.
"People talk about these 'family bands' and all that stuff, but the Allman Brothers really was like a family," he said. "Anything that was happening, you knew about."
Despite knee replacements, back surgery and countless miles behind a drum kit, Jaimoe has no intention of slowing down. He continues leading Jaimoe's Jasssz Band, is working on a memoir with Allman Brothers historian Alan Paul, and still occasionally reunites with former bandmates to celebrate the music that helped define Southern rock. Asked why he organized the 2020 reunion concert marking the band's 50th anniversary, his answer was wonderfully simple: "I missed playing."
Related: ’70s Rock Icon Who Died in 2017 Getting New Documentary ‘Music of My Soul’
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