MEMORIAL Butch Trucks 1947-2017
by Michael Buffalo Smith On Wednesday, January 25, I woke up
to several messages on my phone from my friend and long time staff writer for Gritz and Kudzoomagazines, Derek Halsey. He asked if I had heard anything regarding the rumors that Butch Trucks had died. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I hadn’t even had my shower. I kind of don’t remember taking my shower. I tuned into The Creek as per the info supplied to me by my buddy Charlie “Widget” Gouveia. They were playing all Allman Brothers, and kept saying they could not confirm until given the okay by the family. I totally respect that. Later in the morning we got the sad news that it was true. Allman Brothers Band founding member, drummer, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Butch Trucks died the day be- fore, on January 24th, by his own hand at the age of 69.
Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was
born on May 11, 1947 in Jacksonville, FL One of his first bands was a local Jacksonville band called The Vikings, who made one 7- inch record in 1964. Another early band was The 31st of February, which was both formed and broke up in 1968. This group's lineup eventually included both Duane Allman and Gregg Allman. Butch also attended college at Florida State, band was a huge Seminoles fan. Trucks was a founding member of The
Allman Brothers Band in 1969, along with Duane Allman (guitar), Gregg Allman (vocals and organ), Dickey Betts (guitar), Berry Oak- ley (bass), and fellow drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, aka: Jaimoe.
Together, the two drummers developed
a rhythmic drive that would become a trade- mark of the band. Trucks played a powerful rock style while the jazz-influenced Jaimoe added a second layer of percussion and flour- ishes that blended perfectly with Butch. Dickey Betts was quoted as saying of
Trucks' addition to the original band lineup, "...When Butch came along, he had that freight train, meat-and-potatoes kind of thing that set Jaimoe up perfectly. He had the power thing we needed." Trucks continued to record and per-
form with the Allman Brothers Band until they disbanded in 2014. He was p-roud of the fact that he was the only member of the band to have never missed a single show for any reason. In 2015 Trucks performed at two festi-
vals with a band billed as Butch Trucks & Very Special Friends. This band evolved into a band called Les Brers which was led by Trucks and also featured other former Allman Brothers Band members including his long- time drumming partner Jaimoe, and former Allman, Jack Pearson. He had also been per- forming with a band called Butch Trucks & The Freight Train Band, which was getting set to tour at the time of his death. Butch is survived by his wife Melinda
Trucks, four children, four grandchildren, the entire Allman Brothers Band families and crew. His nephew is Derek Trucks, who was a former member of The Allman Brothers Band and currently front man for The Tedeschi Trucks Band with his wife, Susan Tedeschi. Another nephew, Duane Trucks (Derek's younger brother), plays drums for Wide-
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