On this day, July 19, in 1976, Allman Brothers road manager Scooter Herring was sentenced to 75 years in prison for providing drugs for the group, based on Gregg Allman’s testimony.The blues/rock band had survived the tragic death of two members in separate motorcycle crashes, but the group saw Gregg Allman’s actions as an unforgivable betrayal and the Allman Brothers broke up. Federal prosecutors accused Herring with supplying singer and keyboardist Gregg Allman with cocaine. Authorities squeezed Georgia’s biggest star into giving testimony they hoped would break a larger crime ring. To avoid criminal charges, Allman testified against the road manager and gave details of his own drug use. Herring, the only person snagged in the investigation, was sentenced to 75 years. His conviction was later overturned and he served 30 months total. The Allman Brothers Band members patched up their differences in 1978 and went on to produce chart toppers like “I’m No Angel.” Herring died in 2007 at 67. Scott McCabe
