Ahead of the release of a forthcoming posthumous album, the final original song written by Southern rock pioneer Gregg Allman before his death has been released. Readers can press play below to hear it; it's called "My Only True Friend."

“My Only True Friend” was the last song Allman wrote before his death from liver cancer complications in May of this year. Co-written by Scott Sharrard, the Allman Brothers Band's longtime musical director and guitarist, the song — and the rest of Allman's final album, Southern Blood — were recorded at the iconic Fame Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Ala., where some of the best music of the 1960s and '70s was recorded. It’s a pretty melancholy tune, with Allman essentially saying that, at the end of his life, the road and being out on tour was his “only true friend.”

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Allman was hard at work on Southern Blood in the weeks before his death. Produced by Don Was, the album features cameos from Jackson Browne and a number of legendary local session musicians, including a horn section helmed by saxophonists Jay Collins and Art Edmaiston and trumpeter Marc Franklin.

Southern Blood is set for release on Sept. 8. It is available to pre-order now.

Listen to Gregg Allman's "My Only True Friend"

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