The lead singer of the Allman Brothers band passes away in Savannah

Gregg Allman, the gravel-voiced singer who helped lift the Allman Brothers Band to prominence with a hard-churning brand of soulful rock that became part of the soundtrack of the 1960s and ’70s and set the coordinates for a musical genre known as Southern rock, has died at the age of 69.

Allman, who had cancelled concerts and entire tours in recent years as he battled a variety of health issues, passed away Saturday in Savannah, Ga.