Musicians have paid tribute to rock legend Gregg Allman following his death at 69.

The organist and singer for the Allman Brothers Band died at his home in Savannah, Georgia, in the US, his publicist Ken Weinstein confirmed.

After years of substance abuse, Allman contracted hepatitis C and underwent a liver transplant in 2010.

Gregg Allman (Evan Agostini/AP)
Gregg Allman (Evan Agostini/AP)

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, Allman was raised in Florida by a single mother after his father was shot to death.

He and his older brother Duane formed the nucleus of the Allman Brothers Band.

It featured tight guitar harmonies by Duane Allman and Dickey Betts, a pair of drummers and the smoky, blues-inflected voice of Gregg Allman.

Songs such as Whipping Post, Ramblin’ Man and Midnight Rider helped define what came to be known as Southern rock and opened the doors for such stars as Lynyrd Skynyrd and the Marshall Tucker Band.

In 1975, Cher and Allman married three days after she divorced her husband and singing partner, Sonny Bono.

Their marriage was tumultuous from the start. Cher requested a divorce just nine days after their Las Vegas wedding, although she dismissed the suit a month later.

Together they released a widely panned duets album under the name Allman And Woman. They had one child together, Elijah Blue, and Cher filed for legal separation in 1977.

Cher
Cher (Chris Pizzello/AP)

The Allman Brothers Band likewise split up in the 1980s and then re-formed several times over the years.

Starting in 1990, more than 20 years after its founding, the reunited band began releasing new music and found a new audience.

In 1995 the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and won a Grammy Award for best rock instrumental performance for Jessica the following year.