Rock trailblazer, Gregg Allman dies at 69

Rock trailblazer Gregg Allman, a founding member
 of The Allman Brothers Band, has died age 69.

Allman died at home in Savannah, Georgia, on Saturday, 
his official website announced.

The musician first found fame in the band he started 
with older brother Duane in the late 1960s.

In its heyday, the band was a staple on radio stations and
released albums ranked among the best in rock history.

Allman, the band's lead singer and keyboardist, wrote 
several of their biggest hits, including Whipping Post, It's
 Not My Cross to Bear and Midnight Rider.

Among The Allman Brothers Band's best-known
 songs is Jessica, from 1973, which was used as the 
opening theme tune to Top Gear.

After news of his death was announced, singer Cher,
 to whom he was married in the 1970s, tweeted "words are impossible", before sharing a picture of the two together.

The band's first three albums made them stars, but then tragedy struck when Duane - whose talent as a guitarist
 was revered in the rock industry - died in a motorcycle accident aged 24 in 1971.

A little more than a year later, bassist Berry Oakley was 
also killed in a motorcycle accident.

Allman would go on to struggle with drug abuse, becoming
 a heroin addict in the 1970s.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
 1995, but said in his 2012 memoir My Cross to Bear he
 was too drunk to enjoy the ceremony.

After his death, singer Cher, who he was married to
 in the 1970s, tweeted "words are impossible", before sharing a picture of the two together.

Allman was diagnosed with hepatitis C in 1999 and
 underwent a liver transplant in 2010.

The father-of-five's cause of death was not
 immediately revealed.