Watch the Allman Brothers Band Reunite in 1986 With Two Bassists

The Allman Brothers Band were on hiatus for much of the 1980s but Charlie Daniels helped bring them back together for a special appearance at Volunteer Jam XII on July 12, 1986.

The show at Nashville’s then new Starwood Amphitheatre marked the band’s first full performance in four years. Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks, and Jaimoe were joined by Dan Toler and Chuck Leavell, but the bass chair was a little different – Bruce Waibel and Jerry McCoy shared the duties for the set.

Waibel was playing bass with Gregg Allman’s band at the time after originally joining the group on guitar. He would remain part of Allman’s world for years and later play with FireHouse. McCoy had worked with Dickey Betts and went on to tour and record with artists including Ronnie Milsap. He was inducted into the Mississippi Blues Hall of Fame in 2011.

For the gear heads, Waibel appears to be playing one of Fender’s Japanese Jazz Bass Specials from the era. Those basses combined a Precision style body with a slimmer Jazz style neck and a P/J pickup configuration, making them one of Fender’s more distinctive designs of the 1980s.  Every time I see one, I cant help but think of Duff McKagan.

Footage from the reunion has circulated online for years but the Headliners channel recently posted the performance again as a full concert. Their upload includes “Statesboro Blues,” “Blue Sky,” “One Way Out,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed,” “Ramblin’ Man,” “Jessica,” and an incomplete “Whipping Post.”