Ramblin' men get together again

Twenty musicians have swept through the Allman Brothers Band since it formed in 1969 as an improvisational Southern rock answer to the Grateful Dead. Plagued by tragedy, drugs, Hollywood drama, personality conflicts and creative differences, the band has made masterpieces and flops, broken up, re-formed and taken decades off. The latest lineup, with co-founders Gregg Allman, Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johanson, as well as younger guns Warren Haynes and Derek Trucks, has been the most stable, touring relentlessly. They take over the Beacon Theatre in Manhattan this month for their annual residency. Here's a scorecard of key members in the band's history:

Gregg Allman Despite his hunky-hippie persona, stormy relationship with Cher (and drug problems) in the '70s, soulful vocal talent and compositions of "Whipping Post" and "Midnight Rider," Allman has always been more of an anchor than a rock star onstage.

Duane Allman One of the greatest slide guitarists in rock history, Duane served in the band he founded for just two years before dying in a motorcycle accident in 1971. While the band has survived for 40 years, Duane's crying solos on such classic albums as "At Fillmore East" still personify the Allmans.

SEE PHOTOSRock stars then and now