An American bassist who was one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band. With the Allmans, Oakley was known for his long, melodic bass runs underneath Duane Allman's and Dickey Betts' furious guitar soloing. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed and Whippin' Post from the At Fillmore East live album capture Oakley at his best.

Oakley was also the band member most involved in establishing domestic unity among the band's extended family. After Duane Allman's untimely death, Oakley became the band's de facto leader onstage and was generally credited with keeping the distraught members going.

On November 11, 1972, he was involved in a motorcycle accident with a bus in Macon, Georgia, just three blocks from where Allman had his fatal accident the year before. Oakley said he was okay after the accident, declined medical treatment and went back to The Big House. Just three hours later, he was taken to the hospital and died of a skull fracture. In 1998, the Georgia state legislature passed a resolution designating a bridge on State Highway 19, in Macon, Georgia, as the Raymond Berry Oakley III Bridge in memory of the great bassist.