LAMONT’S MUSIC NOTES-NOV 11, 2019..ON THIS DATE IN 1972 , IN A STRANGE TWIST OF FATE, BERRY OAKLEY THE 24 YEAR OLD BASS PLAYER FOR THE ALLMAN BROTHERS WAS KILLED IN A MOTORCYCLE ACCIDENT. THE ACCIDENT OCCURRED IN ALMOST THE IDENTICAL LOCATION AS THE CRASH THAT KILLED HIS BANDMATE DUANE ALLMAN A YEAR PRIOR. OAKLEY COLLIDED WITH A BUS WHILE DRIVING AROUND A SHARP TURN IN THE ROAD WHILE THE BUS WAS MAKING THE SAME TURN FROM THE OPPOSITE SIDE OF THE ROAD. AFTER STRIKING THE FRONT, AND THEN THE BACK OF THE BUS, OAKLEY WAS THROWN FROM HIS BIKE AND STRUCK HIS HEAD. OAKLEY SAID HE WAS OKAY AFTER THE CRASH, DECLINED TREATMENT, AND CAUGHT A RIDE HOME. THREE HOURS LATER HE WAS RUSHED TO THE HOSPITAL DELIRIOUS AND IN PAIN SUFFERING FROM CEREBRAL SWELLING CAUSED BY A FRACTURED SKULL. HE WAS 24 YEARS OF AGE WHEN HE DIED, THE SAME AGE AS DUANNE ALLMAN. HERE’S A FULL HOUR OF BERRY OAKLEY WITH THE ALLMAN BROTHERS FROM THE FILLMORE EAST
