Dan Toler dies: Allman Brothers Band guitarist was 64

Guitar player Dan Toler, who played with the Allman Brothers Band in the 1970s and 1980s, has passed away at the age of 64. His manager, Glen Halverson, says the musician died of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease") at his Sarasota, Fla. home on Monday (Feb. 25), reports Reuters.

Toler and his late brother, drummer David "Frankie" Toler, played for several rock groups, including DIckey Betts & Great Southern. Dan Toler took up with the Allman Brothers Band in 1979, playing on albums "Enlightened Rogues," "Reach for the Sky" and "Brothers of the Road."

Former bandmate Chaz Trippy says of Toler, "His ability to make people laugh and feel good and happy was amazing. That smile of his is just a force of life and, God, how he loved playing that guitar."