The Allman Brothers Band are currently in the midst of their annual Beacon Theater run. In celebration, we’ve re posted Oteil Burbridge’s 2009 essay on the history of The Allman Brothers Band’s bassists on Relix.com. Burbridge traces the band’s history through its three classic bassists: Berry Oakley, Lamar Williams, and Allen Woody.

“If I had to pick one word to describe the dominant feature of their roles in the ABB, Berry’s would be ‘revolution’ for the way he refused to be bound by the conventional rules of bass, Lamar’s would be ‘foundation’ for the rock-like musical stability that he provided when the band so desperately needed it in the wake of Duane and Berry’s deaths,” he writes. “And Woody’s would be ‘spirit’ for the enormous injection of spirit that he gave the ABB when they needed it so badly to comeback after many years off.”

The complete essay is available here.