Dickey Betts

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Dickey Betts (born Forrest Richard Betts in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 12 December 1943; died 18 April 2024) was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter and composer remembered as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He was inducted with The Allman Brothers Band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won a best rock performance Grammy Award with the band for "Jessica" in 1996. Betts was ranked No. 58 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and No. 61 on the list published in 2011. He released material as Richard Betts, as Dickey Betts & Great Southern, and as The Dickey Betts Band.

Early in his career, Betts collaborated with Duane Allman, introducing melodic twin guitar harmony and counterpoint which "rewrote the rules for how two rock guitarists can work together, completely scrapping the traditional rhythm/lead roles to stand toe to toe". Following Allman's death in 1971, Betts assumed sole lead guitar duties during the peak commercial success of The Allman Brothers Band in the mid-1970s.

Betts was the writer and singer on the Allmans' hit single "Ramblin' Man". He also gained renown for composing instrumentals, with one appearing on most of the group's albums, the most notable of these being "In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" and "Jessica" (the latter widely known as the theme to Top Gear). The band went through a hiatus in the late 1970s, during which time Betts, like many of the other band members, pursued a solo career and side projects under such names as Dickey Betts & Great Southern and The Dickey Betts Band. The Allman Brothers reformed in 1979, with Dan Toler taking the second guitar role alongside Betts. In 1982, they broke up a second time, during which time Betts formed the group Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, which lasted until 1984. A third reformation occurred in 1989, with Warren Haynes now joining Betts on guitar. Betts would be ousted from the band in 2000 over a conflict regarding Betts's continued drug and alcohol use; he would never play with them again and has not since appeared with any former band members for reunions or side projects. With the death of Betts in April 2024, Jaimoe is the last living founder of The Allman Brothers Band.

He was inducted with the band into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and also won a best rock performance Grammy Award with the band for "Jessica" in 1996. Betts was ranked No. 58 on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time list in 2003, and No. 61 on the list published in 2011.

Betts's first solo album (as Richard Betts), Highway Call, was released in 1974, and featured fiddle player Vassar Clements. After The Allman Brothers Band fell apart in 1976, Betts released more albums, starting with Dickey Betts & Great Southern in 1977, which included the song "Bougainvillea", co-written with future Hollywood star Don Johnson. In 1978 he released an album, Atlanta's Burning Down (as Dickey Betts & Great Southern).

In 1982, Betts formed Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, where he was co-frontman along with former Wet Willie singer, saxophone, and harmonica player Jimmy Hall. Despite getting good notices, the group was unable to secure a recording contract and disbanded in 1984. Betts then returned to his solo career, performing live at smaller venues and releasing the album Pattern Disruptive in 1989 (as The Dickey Betts Band).

Betts re-formed The Dickey Betts Band in 2000 and toured that summer. The band re-assumed the name Dickey Betts & Great Southern and added Betts' son Duane (named after Duane Allman) on lead guitar. In 2005, Betts released the DVD Live from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Betts' final album release was Dickey Betts & Great Southern Official Bootleg Vol. 1 (2021), a two-CD live album of performances from the 2000s. Read more about Dickey Betts on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.

Gear used by Dickey Betts

Dickey Betts electric guitars

SILVERTONE 1448 (amp-in-case)

Dickey Betts links

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