Johnny Neel, formerly of the Allman Brothers Band, died at age 70.

No cause of death was reported.

Former bandmate Warren Haynes confirmed Neel’s death. “Aside from being an amazing musician and singer, Johnny was one of the funniest people on the planet — a true character,” Haynes said in a social media post. “‘Johnny Neel stories,’ as we refer to them in our little chunk of the music world, are legendary.”

He’d suffered a stroke five years ago but had recovered.

According to Ultimate Classic Rock, Neel joined the Allman Brothers on keyboards and harmonica before their 20th-anniversary reunion tour in the summer of 1989.

“The first time I met Johnny was at the Bluebird Cafe in Nashville when I had just moved there,” Haynes said. “He was sitting in with a band at a blues jam and he sang a song and played harmonica. The first thing I noticed, other than that he was blind, was that he sang better than their singer and he played better harp than their harp player. After he was done, I approached him and introduced myself and told him how much I enjoyed hearing him to which he replied, ‘I’m really a keyboard player but this band doesn’t have keyboards.’ ‘Wow,’ I thought. He must be a helluva keyboard player — and he was.”

Mark Heim is a reporter for The Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Mark_Heim. He can be heard on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5 FM in Mobile or on the free Sound of Mobile App from 6 to 9 a.m. daily.