Why Warren Haynes Returned To The Allman Brothers Band

Warren Hayes Return To The Allman Brothers

Feature Photo: Adam McCullough / Shutterstock.com

In my recent interview with legendary guitar player and singer-songwriter Warren Haynes, one of the most interesting topics that came up was the time he returned to the Allman Brothers Band after leaving the group for a short time. For those who remember and those who don’t, Warren Haynes was one of the biggest reasons the Allman Brothers Band made their spectacular comeback in 1990. The band had been broken up since the early 80s but reformed in 1990, adding Warren Haynes on guitar to stand next to his good friend Dickey Betts. Warren Haynes and Dickey Betts had been playing together in the Dickey Betts Band and had just released a couple of years earlier the fantastic rocking album Pattern Disruptive. Nonetheless, when Warren Haynes joined the Allman Brothers Band and the group released Seven Turns, the band seemed revitalized and began a new chapter in their history.

During Warren Haynes’ initial period with the Allman Brothers Band, the group released five sensational albums, including Seven Turns (1990), Shades of Two Worlds (1991), An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: First Set (1992, live), Where It All Begins (1994), and An Evening with the Allman Brothers Band: Second Set (1995, live). These would become some of the best releases the Allman Brothers Band had issued since their legendary early seventies albums. In the band, along with Warren Haynes and Dickey Betts on guitar, was Allen Woody on bass. Both Warren Haynes and Allen Woody would form their own band while still members of the Allman Brothers Band, called Gov’t Mule, a group that toured in between breaks with the Allman Brothers Band. They released their debut album, Gov’t Mule, in 1995, followed by Live at Roseland Ballroom in 1996. After performing with the Allman Brothers Band for seven years, Warren Haynes and Allen Woody would leave the group to focus solely on Gov’t Mule in 1997.

In my interview with Warren Haynes, I asked about that particular time. The band Gov’t Mule had really been taking off, and fans of the Allman Brothers Band loved the group. Gov’t Mule was a hard-rocking act consisting of Warren Haynes on guitar, Alan Woody on bass, and Matt Abts on drums, who had played with Warren in the Dicky Betts Band. The group released their second studio album called Dose in 1998, and the much-loved live album Live… With a Little Help from Our Friends in 1999. In the year 2000, Gov’t Mule released their strongest album to date, called Life Before Insanity. Sadly, six months after the album had been released, Allen Woody passed away.

Warren Haynes discussed this with me during our interview, stating that he wasn’t really sure what would happen to the band after Allen passed. During that time, he got a phone call from Gregg Allman, who he said was very close to Allen. After Gregg had given Woody his condolences, he asked if Warren would be interested in rejoining the Allman Brothers Band, stating that he would really like to have him back. Warren wasn’t sure at the time if that would work out, so they announced a series of concerts at the Beacon Theatre, labeling it The Allman Brothers Band featuring special guest Warren Haynes. This was done so that if it didn’t work out or didn’t feel right, there would be no commitment to the fans that Warren Haynes had rejoined the band, it would simply be a series of special concerts featuring Warren Haynes as a guest.

In the end, it did work out. The concerts were an enormous success, and it felt right. Warren Haynes had rejoined the Allman Brothers Band, and this lineup would become the longest-running lineup in the band’s history, staying together for the next fourteen years, a point that Warren Haynes made sure to emphasize in our interview. For the next decade and a half, the Allman Brothers Band would tour and develop a new following of younger fans who had not known the band’s earlier music. While longtime fans celebrated the band’s dedication to playing the classics and continuing to release new material, the Allman Brothers Band pushed forward, inspiring countless other groups to follow their lead. Many would come to feel that the pairing of Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks on stage every night created some of the most ferocious, inspiring, and brilliant guitar jams since the days of Duane Allman. Warren Haynes would eventually continue Gov’t Mule as the band just recently released their twenty-sixth album in 2023 called Peace… Like a River.

You can watch the snippet of this interview below, and if you’d like to watch the complete interview, just click on the link below that.