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Born in Delaware 72 Years Ago Today, the “Musician’s Musician” Who Overcame Blindness To Write Hits for Keith Whitley and the Oak Ridge Boys.Your cart is currently empty!Born in Delaware 72 Years Ago Today, the “Musician’s Musician” Who Overcame Blindness To Write Hits for Keith Whitley and the Oak Ridge Boys Best known for his time with the Allman Brothers Band and the Dickey Betts Band, Johnny Neel didn’t let near-lifelong blindness thwart his musical success.An accomplished songwriter, vocalist, and keyboardist, others often referred to Neel as the “musician’s musician.” During a career spanning nearly six decades, he worked with the likes of Warren Haynes, Montgomery Gentry, Todd Snider, David Allan Coe, Suzy Bogguss, and more.Today, we’re reflecting on the life and career of Johnny Neel, who would have turned 72 years old today.Videos by American Songwriter Johnny Neel Overcame Disability to Enjoy a Successful Music Career Born June 11, 1954, in Wilmington, Delaware, Neel became blind shortly after birth due to complications stemming from being born premature.Drawn to music from a young age, he began playing the bongos before starting his formal education.Once he began attending a school for the blind, Neel also picked up the piano.At 12, he cut his first single, “Talking About People”, as Johnny Neel and The Shapes Of Soul.After gaining popularity throughout Wilmington and Philadelphia, he started the Johnny Neel Band as an adult.Releasing two albums, Neel built a following up and down the East Coast.In 1984, Neel, then 30, left Delaware behind for Nashville.Performing at the famed Bluebird Cafe, he piqued the interest of Warren Haynes and Dickey Betts.The two asked him to join their band, which led to seven cuts on the 1988 Pattern Disruptive album, including the hit “Rock Bottom”.Impressed with Neel’s work on Pattern Disruptive, Gregg Allman invited him to tour with his road band, which cut “Island” on The Gregg Allman Band album (1988).Then, in 1989, Neel accepted an invitation to join the reunited Allman Brothers Band.Along with Allman and Betts, he wrote the group’s 1990 Mainstream rock chart-topper “Good Clean Fun”, which Montgomery Gentry later covered in 2002.Neel also co-wrote “Maydell” from the group’s final album, 2003’s Hittin’ the Note.“There Was Always Music in His Head” On October 6, 2024, Johnny Neel died of heart failure in Nashville, Tennessee.He was 70 years old.In an online eulogy, Warren Haynes, Neel’s former bandmate, praised the musician’s “uncanny ability to draw from so many musical styles and genres.” [RELATED: Johnny Neel, Former Member of the Allman Brothers Band and Dickey Betts Band Dead at 70] “There was always music in his head.It was his savior,” Haynes wrote.“Whenever we were writing together, he was an endless fountain of ideas, and the same on stage or in the studio… Johnny’s music and his legend will live on forever.Miss you Neely.” Featured image by Steve Eichner/WireImage Leave a Reply Only members can comment.Become a member.Already a member?