Cowboy and Gregg Allman Guitarist Tommy Talton, Dead at 74

Photo Credit: Emily Butler

Country rock guitarist Tommy Talton, known for his association with the band Cowboy, Gregg Allman, and as a sessions player with Allman Brothers Band, Billy Joe Shaver, Johnny Rivers, and others, died on Thursday, Dec. 28, 2023. He was 74. 

From a young age, Talton was interested in the guitar, picking up the instrument and learning to play at age 13. As a young adult, he participated in the group We the People before his defining role as a member of Cowboy alongside Scott Boyer, Chuck Leavell, and Bill Stewart. 

As a confidant of Duane Allman, Talton was introduced to Gregg, ultimately supporting him on his first solo tour in 1974. Notably, Talton also joined the Allmans during their Brothers and Sisters session, adding acoustic guitar to “Pony Boy” and, later, appearing on Betts’ debut LP, Highway Call. 

The Gregg Allman popularized “All My Friends” represented another connection to Talton–whose Cowboy ensemble, with Boyer, released and wrote the song in 1971. It was later re-recorded for Allman’s Laid Back set, featuring both Talton and Boyer as session players. 

Talton’s legacy was memorialized by admirers, including Warren Haynes, who took time to reflect on the passing via Instagram, writing, “Today we lost a brother. Aside from being an amazingly talented musician and songwriter, he was a special, beautiful human being. He was family. Although Tommy remained behind the scenes for most of his career, the scenes he was behind were some amazing ones.”

“His history and association with the Allman Brothers Band goes back to the very beginning- long before my time- and although I knew his work with Cowboy and the many recording sessions he was part of, I didn’t get to know him until the past twenty-five years or so. We shared the stage many, many times- and shared twice as many stories- and each time, I would walk away having learned something I didn’t already know,” Haynes continued. 

Haynes added, “Tommy was one of those rare musicians who cut through to the truth- what music really means and what it can be as a healing, nurturing tool in life. Every note mattered every word mattered- but not in a pretentious way- in the truest way that mattered to him, whether or not people could tell the difference. He also continued to write and record some of the finest music of his life in most recent years.”

Stringing together connections in the country rock sphere, Haynes said, “I remember Derek Trucks telling me that hearing Tommy playing slide guitar- live on stage when he was nine years old- was a life-changing experience for him that helped shape his future, and I know he was able to share that story with Tommy.” 

Before concluding his statement, Haynes recalled, “My most favorite moment playing with Tommy would be a few years ago when Gov’t Mule played in Macon and we got lost in some magical improvisation that was indicative of his approach to music- and to life for that matter- living for the moment.”