1972 Rock Classic, Lasting Over 33 Minutes, Turned a 1967 Hit Into a Jam-Rock Epic

In February 1972, the Allman Brothers Band released one of their most iconic-and personal- albums of all time, Eat a Peach. The two-disc album was the last with founding member Duane Allman, who died in a motorcycle accident in October 1971.

Eat a Peach includes Allman Brothers classics "Melissa," "Blue Sky" and the Duane Allman tribute "Ain't Wasting Time No More." It also features "Mountain Jam," an extended all-instrumental jam session that spans the entire second sides of both vinyl records.

Recorded during the band's iconic 1971 sessions at the Fillmore East concert venue, "Mountain Jam" features epic solos from all six Allman Brothers Band members: Duane Allman (guitar), Gregg Allman (keyboards), Dickey Betts (guitar), Berry Oakley (bass), and Butch Trucks and Jai Johanson (drums).

The live jam, heavily inspired by Donovan's 1967 Billboard Hot 100 hit, "There Is a Mountain," spans 33 minutes and 41 seconds. The hit folk-rock song was such a basis for "Mountain Jam" that songwriting credits for the 1972 release went to all of the Allman Brothers Band members as well as D. Leitch, better known as Donovan.

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Billboard once noted that "Mountain Jam," which became an Allman Brothers Band concert staple, was much more than a "meandering" exploration, adding, "[It] was an example of what always set the Allmans apart: no matter where the song would go, it would always come right back to where it started, with its main theme based on Donovan's 1967 hit ‘There Is a Mountain.'"

In a 1981 interview with Jas Obrecht, Betts said "Mountain Jam" was very much a good representation of the Allman Brothers' sound at the time.

"We cut it, though, at the same time at the Fillmore," he added. "There was no overdubs whatsoever on the Fillmore. No vocal overdubs, no repair work. There was some edits in some of the jams. You know, they had to edit it to try to get it on the record, but other than that, there was nothing done to that. It's just a pure performance."

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This story was originally published June 13, 2026 at 9:20 AM.