Idlewild South

September 23rd marked 45 years since the release of the Allman Brothers Band's second studio album, Idlewild South, on Atco and Capricorn Records, which followed their 1969, self-titled debut. While that first album had little commercial success, the band's relentless touring behind it led to a buzz that led Eric Clapton to enlist Duane Allman to take part on his 1970 Derek and the Dominos album which produced "Layla." Produced by Tom Dowd, marking his first album with the band, Idlewild South was recorded in a variety of cities, including New York, Miami and Macon, GA, the band's adopted home, because of their hectic performance schedule. Most of the songs, including two of their most iconic - Gregg Allman and Kim Payne's "Midnight Rider" and Dickey Betts' "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" - were road-tested before they were ever recorded. The album's title comes from the group's name for the run-down, isolated hunting cabin the band used for rehearsals and partying. The farmhouse, which they rented for the princely sum of $165 a month, was located on a manmade lake outside Macon, and people came and went with such frequency, the band compared it to New York's airport of the same name (later changed to John F. Kennedy International). Much of the material on the album was first created in that cabin, where the band's "brotherhood came to pass," according to Allmans roadie (and "Midnight Rider" co-writer) Kim Payne. The album didn't sell well at first, but eventually peaked at #38 on Billboard, setting the stage for their 1971 breakthrough, At Fillmore East.