Ramblin' Man by The Allman Brothers Band

This 1973 track marked a turning point for the Allman Brothers Band. It was their first (and for a long while, only) hit single; and marked a change of direction as their first country-influenced song. It also sported a vocal by lead guitarist Dickey Betts, who would take more of the spotlight from keyboardist Gregg Allman in years to come.

Adding to the new direction was a full-time pianist—namely Chuck Leavell, who’s become an unofficial Rolling Stone after a few years with the Allmans. More dramatically, it found the group rebounding from tragedy, as they lost two key members—guitarist Duane Allman and bassist Berry Oakley—before its release (“Ramblin’ Man” was one of the last tracks Oakley played on).

Partly due to this track, the Allmans would reach a level of commercial success, and behind-the-scenes conflicts, that had never happened when Duane was steering the group.

One of our favorite bits of musical trivia ever: Two different people who play on “Ramblin’ Man”—Gregg Allman and guest guitarist Les Dudek—later dated Cher.

The drums parts are tricky for the same reason they are in the Grateful Dead songs: Because the band had two drummers. The Allmans’ two drummers, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe, generally switched off doing the pulse and the color…but here you get to do both!

Guitar-wise, this is the opposite of many RB songs, in that the solo is fairly easy to master, but the main riff is the stickler. The solo is pretty and not incredibly flashy, but the riff involves a lot of fast strumming to an offbeat rhythm.

The Allmans remain a major live attraction—but you won’t hear them play this song, as Dickey Betts was ousted from the band in 2001.