Johnny Neel, the keyboardist for the Allman Brothers Band, has passed away at the age of 70.
His former bandmate Warren Haynes announced the news of his passing in a post to Facebook.
"Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet — a true character. 'Johnny Neel stories,' as we refer to them in our little chunk of the music world, are legendary," he wrote. "There was always music in his head. It was his savior. Whenever we were writing together, he was an endless fountain of ideas, and the same on stage or in the studio," the post began.
"His uncanny ability to draw from so many musical styles and genres was amazing and his gift for improvisation was unmatched. We wrote a lot of music together, we played a lot of music together, and we traveled the world together, and maybe most importantly, we had a lot of fun times and created a lot of beautiful memories. Hence the stories. Johnny's music and his legend will live on forever. Miss you Neely," it concluded.
RIP Johnny Neel “Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet — a true character. “Johnny Neel stories,” as we refer to them in our little...
Neel was born in Delaware in 1954. However, he did not join the Allman Brothers Band until 1989 where he joined and worked with the group on their 1990 album, Seven Turns. Outside of playing keyboards for the group, he also served as a songwriter and co-wrote the tracks "Good Clean Fun" and "Maydell." Over the years, his songs have been covered by the likes of Gov't Mule, McClinton, Keith Whitley, Travis Tritt and more.
Neel previously suffered a stroke in 2019, but he had since returned to the stage and was performing. No reason for the cause of his death has been given at this time.
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