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.

Butch Trucks "I haven't had this much fun playing music since Duane died," the band's founding drummer told Newsday last year. Why? In part, no drugs. Trucks himself has been alcohol-free for a decade and drug-free for 25 years.

Derek Trucks Fair-haired nephew of Butch, Derek formed his own band as a teen, and put out electric-guitar albums with touches of jazz, blues and rock in the late '90s. It was perhaps inevitable he would take over Duane's guitar-hotshot slot.

Warren Haynes A journeyman guitar master who began playing in country singer David Allan Coe's band, Haynes has technically been an Allman Brother twice. He was a sideman from 1989 to 1997; after he'd established himself as a jam-band hero with Gov't Mule, he rejoined with more name recognition in 2000, replacing Betts.

Dickey Betts (departed 2000) When Duane Allman died, founding member Betts took over guitar, much of the songwriting ("Ramblin' Man" and "Blue Sky") and general direction. He became "the reluctant de facto leader," according to AllMusic, but Butch Trucks remembered differently. "Dickey likes being the big dog," Trucks said last year.