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Derek Trucks says Duane Allman “was an almost mythical character in my house”

The slide guitarist also named BB King and Eric Clapton as other influences on his playing.

Derek Trucks

Image: Taylor Hill / Getty

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Derek Trucks has dived into how Duane Allman is one of his biggest influences and the reason why he took an interest in guitar.

Trucks, who formerly played in The Allman Brothers band and is now a slide guitar legend in the Tedeschi Trucks Band, described his admiration for Duane Allman in an interview with Guitar World:

“For me, it started with Duane Allman. I mean, that was the music that was playing in my house all the time. And that was what first got me interested in playing guitar.

“Duane was an almost mythical character in my house. My dad grew up around a lot of what came before Duane, but I wasn’t alive to see any of that.

“So, he was the starting point for me when it comes to guitar.”

The American guitar champion also named BB King and Eric Clapton as contenders in his early influence, saying: “One of the great honours of my life… was just getting to spend a lot of time with BB – [to] play music with him, and become friends with him.

“With Clapton, from all the music he made, the way he influenced people, and the way that he was able to run his band, all of that was impressive.

“I ended up learning a lot from the way he was running the show and his economy of emotion when he’s really tagging a solo – it’s incredible to watch.”

Trucks previously performed with the likes of Bob Dylan and Joe Walsh before the age of 20, but the now 43-year-old currently plays alongside wife and bandmate Susan Tedeschi.

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