Warren Haynes was born in Asheville, North Carolina in 1960. He began to play the guitar at age 12. Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton and Johnny Winter were early influences.

‘I would read interviews with all these people and find out who they listened to,’ Haynes has said. ‘And they all listened to B.B. King and Freddie King and Albert King and Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters and Elmore James. So I would go back and discover that stuff.’

Haynes joined country veteran David Allan Coe’s band in 1980 when he was 20 years old, and remained with the band for four years. While playing with local musicians and doing session guitar and vocal work, he co-wrote ‘Two Of A Kind, Workin’ On A Full House’, which became a No. 1 single for Garth Brooks.

Around 1987, Haynes was hired by Dickey Betts of The Allman Brothers Band and co-wrote the title track for Gregg Allman’s solo album, Just Before The Bullets Fly (1988). In 1989, the reunited Allman Brothers Band recruited Haynes. He has since played on four studio albums, including the gold-certified Where It All Begins (1994).

Haynes and bassist Allen Woody left the group in March 1997 to focus solely on their side project, Gov’t Mule, which released three albums and became known for powerful live performances. Shortly after Woody’s death in 2000, Haynes began appearing with The Allman Brothers again, alongside guitarist Derek Trucks. Haynes has performed and toured with many of the remaining members of The Grateful Dead, first with Phil Lesh And Friends, and then with the other remaining members, now performing as The Dead.

In 1993, Haynes’ first solo album, Tales Of Ordinary Madness, was produced by former Allman Brothers keyboardist Chuck Leavell. In 2003 and 2004 respectively, Haynes released two solo acoustic works, The Lone EP and Live From Bonnaroo. After recording Gov’t Mule’s By A Thread album, Haynes formed The Warren Haynes Band. The album Man In Motion was released in May 2011 and the Live At The Moody Theater package came out in April 2012 on Stax Records.

Starting in 1988, Haynes put together an annual charity benefit show to benefit Habitat For Humanity, inviting musicians originally from his hometown of Asheville.

Essential Recordings

1993
Solo: Tales Of Ordinary Madness

1994
The Allman Brothers Band: Where It All Begins

2009
Gov’t Mule: By A Thread

2011
The Warren Haynes Band: Man In Motion

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