Douglas Allen Woody

Musician. Douglas Allen Woody was former bassist for the Allman Brothers Band and founder of power trio Gov't Mule. Woody, who went by his middle name Allen, had played in bands with members of Lynyrd Skynryd before joining Gregg Allman's revived band in 1989. The musician was 44 years old at the time of his death. Born the son of a Nashville truck driver, Woody was inspired to start learning the bass at 14 by Paul McCartney's work with the Beatles, though he cited influences like Hot Tuna, Jefferson Aeroplane, blues, country, and "golden oldies". In a 1995 interview, Woody reminisced about hearing the Allman Brothers Band for the first time as "a 14 or 15-year-old wild child", never suspecting that one day he would be instrumental in the famed Southern band's comeback success. Woody pursued music seriously as a student at Middle Tennessee State University, where he became proficient in a number of genres and on a variety of stringed instruments. As a professional musician, Woody was known for his custom-made instruments and his versatility, his work incorporating a double-necked combination guitar and mandolin and a sitar-like bass he designed and had made to order in the mid-1990s. Woody paid his dues in his early career working as a salesman at Gruhn Guitars in his hometown of Nashville, Tennessee, meeting many prominent musicians from the rock and country music industry. In the 1980s Woody joined the Artimus Pyle Band, formed by the former drummer for Southern rockers Lynyrd Skynrd. The Southern Rock community being a close one, especially as interest in "roots music" ebbed during the "New Wave" invasion, Woody was introduced by Pyle to Butch Trucks of the Allman Brothers Band, who suggested the younger musician audition for their open bass slot. Woody became a key player in the Allman's 1989 reformation. Woody and guitarist Warren Haynes lent their talents to a line-up, which had been depleted over the years by the deaths of cofounder Duane Allman and 2 prior bass players, with Woody making additional contributions as a writer. The famous but troubled Allman Brothers Band had not played in 7 years, but with Woody joining charter member Gregg Allman and the rest of the ABB lineup, the veterans went on to new critical and commercial success. With Gregg Allman's blessing, Woody and Haynes started their own band, originally a side project, which they named "Gov't Mule", a phrase Woody attributed to a conversation he had with Allman Brothers drummer Jai Johnny Johanson. The band, consisting of Woody, Haynes, and drummer Matt Abt, felt the name fit as a description of a "slow, hardworking, non-glorious animal". Woody and his "non-glorious animal" spent roughly 4 years doing double duty to their own project as well as with the Allman Brothers live shows and recordings before making an amicable split in 1997 to pursue Gov't Mule full time. Under contract with Capricorn Records, Woody and his band mates built a steady following and his life was on an up note: after two divorces, Woody had remarried, and saw the albums "Gov't Mule", "Live at Roseland Ballroom" and 1998s "Dose" go to critical success. The Band released a 3rd studio album, "Life Before Insanity" in early 2000. Douglas Allen Woody was discovered dead in his hotel suite at the Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Queens, New York, near the offices of Gov't Mule's management team on Saturday, August 26th, 2000. The musician had been scheduled on a flight back to Nashville for that morning. Woody died of a heroin overdose.