Jaimoe is the last surviving original member of the Allman Brothers Band, and the proof is visible on his right calf. On any given day, it is right there: a small, somewhat smudged mushroom tattoo, darker than the ones the other original members received.
According to Rolling Stone, the story behind it dates to 1971. The band had just played a set at Winterland in San Francisco when the members decided to formalize their bond by visiting tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle. Each member got a mushroom tattooed on their lower right leg, chosen in honor of the psychedelic mushrooms they consumed together. Jaimoe's version stands apart from the rest. "This is the only one like that," he said. "The ones that were colored, they don't look anything like this."
The interview took place at a recording studio near Jaimoe's home in Bloomfield, Connecticut, where he has lived for more than 35 years. He was dressed casually and holding a pair of drumsticks.
Before joining the Allmans, Jaimoe was a jazz devotee, and he brought that sensibility into the band's blues foundation. Guitarist Warren Haynes, who joined the band in 1989 and stayed through their final shows, described what that contribution meant.
"In some ways he's one of the most defining members," Haynes said. "All six of those original guys had distinctive personalities and brought a lot to the table. But what Jaimoe brought was so unique. The Allman Brothers would not have been the same without him. That [jazz] dimension would have been missing. It played such a big role in the sound of the music."
Jaimoe was also a visually striking presence in a genre not known for racial diversity. A rare Black musician in the Southern rock world of the 1970s, he had a muscular build he traced back to his teenage years, when he said he wanted to be Mr. America. His look, which included berets and glasses, made an impression on people who saw the original lineup play.
Bert Holman, who saw the original band and later became their manager, remembered the effect Jaimoe had on audiences. "He was this Black guy playing drums, looking very Black Power with his sunglasses and Army jacket," Holman said.
The band's history, and the friends and bandmates Jaimoe has lost over the decades, stays close. On any given day, he does not have to look far for a reminder. He only has to look down.
