Interview with GREGG ALLMAN: THE MUSIC OF MY SOUL producer Michael Lehman and producer/director James Keach

To truly know a musician, you have to go beyond the music and understand the artist as a human being, rather than just a talented performer. In doing so, you usually come across at least one past trauma or hardship they had to overcome; something that has shaped them into the person they’ve become known for. Recent music documentaries that are aware of that and have included these elements in an immersive and enlightened manner have been either produced or directed (sometimes both) by James Keach. His latest, “Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul,” aims to introduce audiences to a sensitive, gentler side of an iconic, award-winning musician. Co-produced with Allman’s former manager, Michael Lehman, the documentary captures the tragedies and triumphs that shaped his life and career, featuring commentary from those who knew him best.

Keach, who co-produced the Oscar-winning Johnny Cash biopic “Walk the Line”, has produced and/or directed fantastic documentaries about Glen Campbell, David Crosby, and Linda Ronstadt, American musicians who’ve carved their own paths despite various adversities and hardships. The main difference between those three documentaries and “The Music of My Soul” is that the subjects were alive when Keach was working on them, whereas Allman died in 2017 of liver cancer at age 69. While this was clearly different, Allman also came to life for Keach in unexpected ways.

With the help of Lehman, who worked closely with Allman for years and produced a handful of his studio albums and a live album, Keach has offered a vibrant and engaging look at the artist.

While the documentary does include the Nashville-born Gregg’s childhood and the formation of the Allman Brothers Band in Macon, Georgia, it also features interviews from throughout Gregg Allman’s career. One recently unearthed 2014 interview in particular becomes the documentary’s core, showing a reflective Allman reflecting on where he was at the time of the interview and how he’s come to view the past. Clips from the candid interview are sprinkled throughout the documentary, along with interviews dating back to the early 1970s, when the Allman Brothers Band was just taking off.

Along with other key archival photos and videos, Keach also includes current video clips from surviving band members, keyboardist Chuck Leavell, and drummer Jaimoe, along with producer Don Was and musician Jackson Browne. We also hear from Gregg’s family, including his son, Devon Allman.

Die-hard fans of Gregg Allman and the Allman Brothers Band may already know a lot of what’s covered in “The Music of My Soul”, but it is nevertheless a treat to see this footage and hear Gregg again. Keach has deftly compiled it all in such a way that Allman comes back to life again. Certainly, for some viewers, this may be their first exposure to Allman, his music, and his legacy.

I found it to be one of the better recent music documentaries, one that gave me a greater appreciation for Allman as a musician and as someone who persevered and eventually made amends for the years he lost to addiction. You can check out my review here.

Below, you can also check out my interview with both Michael Lehman and James Keach.

“Gregg Allman: The Music of My Soul” premiered on June 9th in New York City and on June 11th in Macon, Ga., with “one-night-only” screenings on June 17th in more than 200 theaters nationwide.

If you’re in the Chicago area, it’s playing at the Music Box Theatre.