Butch Trucks, one of the Allman Brothers Band's founding drummers, died Tuesday evening in West Palm Beach, Florida. He was 69. Page Stallings, Trucks' booking agent, confirmed the veteran musician's death to Rolling Stone, but said a cause of death is currently unknown.
"The Trucks and Allman Brothers Band families request all of Butch's friends and fans to please respect our privacy at this time of sadness for our loss," Trucks' rep said in a statement. "Butch will play on in our hearts forever."
"I'm heartbroken," Gregg Allman said in a statement. "I've lost another brother and it hurts beyond words. Butch and I knew each other since we were teenagers and we were bandmates for over 45 years. He was a great man and a great drummer and I'm going to miss him forever. Rest In Peace Brother Butch."
"Today we lost a Brother and the music world lost a great, innovative drummer and part of rock history," Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes said in a statement. "I am truly honored to have played music and shared life with Butch for over 25 years. It is a sad day indeed."
Alongside drummer and percussionist Jai "Jaimoe" Johnny Johanson, Trucks helped lay the swinging foundation for southern-rock drumming. Jamoe once asked Duane Allman why he wanted two drummers in the group, according to the Allman Brothers biography One Way Out, and the guitarist referenced Otis Redding and James Brown's dual-drummer bands.
"Jaimoe was a real good drummer, but more of a pocket guy … he wasn't really able to handle the power," Allman Brothers guitarist Dicky Betts said in the book. "We needed Butch, who had that drive and strength, freight train, meat-and-potatoes thing. It set Jaimoe up perfectly." Although Jaimoe left and returned to the group in the Eighties, Trucks provided a constant beat throughout the band's lifespan.
Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was born in Jacksonville, Florida on May 11th, 1947. He started playing drums in the eighth grade and joined Jacksonville's Englewood High School band, according to Skydog: The Duane Allman Story. His parents were strict Baptists and refused to buy him a drum kit of his own until 11th grade when he promised never to play in an establishment that served liquor. Before graduating high school, he played in two bands – the Vikings and the Echoes – as well as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Jacksonville Symphonette, where he played tympani. He went on to attend Florida State University where, he once said, he "majored in staying out of Vietnam," and formed a group called the Bitter Ind.
It was at a Bitter Ind. gig in Daytona Beach where Trucks first encountered Gregg and Duane Allman. The latter would later call Trucks and ask him to play drums at a gig. Almost three years later, they would form the Allman Brothers Band.
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"The Trucks and Allman Brothers Band families request all of Butch's friends and fans to please respect our privacy at this time of sadness for our loss," Trucks' rep said in a statement. "Butch will play on in our hearts forever."
"I'm heartbroken," Gregg Allman said in a statement. "I've lost another brother and it hurts beyond words. Butch and I knew each other since we were teenagers and we were bandmates for over 45 years. He was a great man and a great drummer and I'm going to miss him forever. Rest In Peace Brother Butch."
"Today we lost a Brother and the music world lost a great, innovative drummer and part of rock history," Allman Brothers Band guitarist Warren Haynes said in a statement. "I am truly honored to have played music and shared life with Butch for over 25 years. It is a sad day indeed."
Alongside drummer and percussionist Jai "Jaimoe" Johnny Johanson, Trucks helped lay the swinging foundation for southern-rock drumming. Jamoe once asked Duane Allman why he wanted two drummers in the group, according to the Allman Brothers biography One Way Out, and the guitarist referenced Otis Redding and James Brown's dual-drummer bands.
"Jaimoe was a real good drummer, but more of a pocket guy … he wasn't really able to handle the power," Allman Brothers guitarist Dicky Betts said in the book. "We needed Butch, who had that drive and strength, freight train, meat-and-potatoes thing. It set Jaimoe up perfectly." Although Jaimoe left and returned to the group in the Eighties, Trucks provided a constant beat throughout the band's lifespan.
Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was born in Jacksonville, Florida on May 11th, 1947. He started playing drums in the eighth grade and joined Jacksonville's Englewood High School band, according to Skydog: The Duane Allman Story. His parents were strict Baptists and refused to buy him a drum kit of his own until 11th grade when he promised never to play in an establishment that served liquor. Before graduating high school, he played in two bands – the Vikings and the Echoes – as well as the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra and Jacksonville Symphonette, where he played tympani. He went on to attend Florida State University where, he once said, he "majored in staying out of Vietnam," and formed a group called the Bitter Ind.
It was at a Bitter Ind. gig in Daytona Beach where Trucks first encountered Gregg and Duane Allman. The latter would later call Trucks and ask him to play drums at a gig. Almost three years later, they would form the Allman Brothers Band.
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