Dan Toler, who played guitar for the Allman Brothers, has died of complications from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease. He was 65 years old.
Toler played with the Allman Brothers through the ’70s and ’80s, then moved on to play with the Gregg Allman Band, enjoying several years of success with both. But when the disease struck, his ability to play guitar and even speak were compromised. Former bandmate Chaz Trippy remembers visiting Toler at the height of his illness and describes how his friend motioned to his guitar, then to his heart.
“He was telling me it was breaking his heart that he couldn’t play guitar,” Trippy said. “I didn’t cry in front of him but I sure did when I got back into my car.”
Toler’s illness was especially bad in the last two years; in 2011, he was confined to a wheelchair but still had use of his hands and could play guitar. Musician Bonnie Bramlett performed at the two-day Dan Toler ALS Support Benefit Concert Festival alongside him and remembers how strong he was through all the struggle.
“To see how Danny walked tall through that disease and play guitar so beautifully with his blue eyes burning that night. What a hero,” she said. “He really showed people how to live, and how to die. He really made you check yourself. What a great man and a great musician.”
(Reuters) - Guitarist Dan Toler, who played in the Allman Brothers Band in the late 1970s and 1980s, has died of Lou Gehrig's disease at his home in Sarasota, Florida, his manager said.
Toler died on Monday and was in his early 60s, the manager, Glen Halverson, said.
Toler and his late brother, drummer David "Frankie" Toler, played in several groups, including Dickey Betts & Great Southern.
Dan Toler was part of the Allman Brothers Band from 1979 to 1982 and was featured on the group's albums "Enlightened Rogues," "Reach for the Sky" and "Brothers of the Road."
"His ability to make people laugh and feel good and happy was amazing," the Sarasota Herald Tribune quoted his friend and former bandmate Chaz Trippy as saying. "That smile of his is just a force of life and, God, how he loved playing that guitar."
Toler announced in 2011 that he had amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a degenerative nerve diseased better known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Funeral arrangements were pending, Halverson said.
(Reporting by Jane Sutton; Editing by Martin Golan)
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