Gregg Allman Was on Borrowed Time Before Blackberry Smoke Collaboration

Blackberry Smoke frontman Charlie Starr says southern rock icon Gregg Allman had already outlasted his liver cancer prognosis when he provided vocals for Blackberry Smoke's song, "Free on the Wing," the last track on their Like An Arrow album, released in October of 2016.

Starr says it wasn't until after Allman's passing this past May that the band learned just how significant a gesture that was on Allman's part.

"I don't think any of us—even as far as management and everything—knew that he was as ill as he was," Starr told Q104.3 New York's "Out of the Box" with Jonathan Clarke in a recent interview.

"So he was told he would live a year, and he wound up living five years," Starr continued. "So that was why he apparently wanted to stay as busy as he could, doing what he loved. That was really touching to me, thinking, 'Man, he took time out of his schedule to come do that for us'...Wow, it's just a crazy idea."

Prior to asking Allman if he would feature on "Free on the Wing," Blackberry Smoke had gotten to know him, playing some shows and festivals together. But asking for Allman's time, even without knowing how little he had left, was still "terrifying" to Starr.

Check out the full interview above.

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