Watch Gregg Allman’s Poignant ‘Song for Adam’ Video
A biker reflects on an old friendship in the poignant new video for Gregg Allman‘s take on Jackson Browne‘s “Song for Adam.” Browne lends his vocals to the track, which closes the late Allman’s final album, Southern Blood. Allman died in May and the “Song for Adam” video arrives on what would have been his 70th birthday.
The emotional acoustic ballad, about a friend who is suddenly gone, provides a fitting soundtrack for the Erica Silverman–directed video. The clip stars Zach Chance (of Jamestown Revival), Yates Robertson, Zoe Graham and Johnny McPhail, and the narrative jumps between past and present. In the flashbacks, two friends ride motorcycles down sprawling country roads, but in the present, one of them, now an old man, trudges through a quiet but uneventful life on his own.
Silverman tells Rolling Stone that the character in “Song for Adam” “really reminded me of my father. He was a motorcycle riding badass, who lived and died in Florida. I pulled a lot of the narrative from his life. He and Gregg were born the same year and probably would’ve been buds.”
Of the clip, she adds: “We worked hard on this little video, shooting in multiple cities all over Texas. I grew up listening to the Allman Brothers, and couldn’t believe the opportunity. Gregg and his music represent so much to so many different people. I hope the video carries an ounce of his spirit. This is for you Gregg, I miss you, we all miss you. And congrats on that Grammy nomination! Some legends never die.”
Southern Blood was released posthumously in September. In an interview with Rolling Stone, producer Don Was reflected on the making of the album and the emotional session that produced “Song for Adam.” Was said Allman chose the song because it reminded him of his late brother, Duane, and when he arrived at the line “Still it seems he stopped singing in the middle of his song,” Was said the rocker began to choke up.
“He wasn’t able to finish the verse,” Was said. “He never got the last two lines. I know he was thinking about his brother. We all decided, ‘Let’s not fix it.'”