Post Overdue

R.I.P. Dickey

12/12/43 – 4/18/24

As a founding member of “The Allman Brothers Band {ABB} this man stood toe to toe with the legendary Duane Allman and in doing so changed rock and roll forever. After the death of Duane, Dickey took over as the sole lead guitarist for the band. With his passing that leaves Jai “Jaimoe Johanson as the last surviving founding member.

Dickey came from a musical family and by age 5 was playing the ukulele and soon moved on to the mandolin, banjo, and finally the guitar. He formed the band Second Coming with another great from ABB Berry Oakley in 1967.

1969 found Duane Allman forming a new band which became “The Allman Brothers Band” including Dickey Betts, Greg Allman, Berry Oakley.

Duane once stated “I’m the famous guitar player, but Dickey is the good one.”

“Ramblin’ Man” is the biggest hit from ABB and was written and played by Dickey, He also wrote “Jessica, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed, Blue Sky, Hot Lanta’ ” to name a few. Here is a taste of the fantastic sounds he produced.

And

Flying Solo

In the late 70s ABB was on hiatus and Dickey form his own bands “Great Southern” and the “Dickey Betts Band”.

Betts was ousted from ABB in 2000 over a conflict regarding his continued drug and alcohol use, he never played with them again.

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

The Allman Brothers have had a major impact on my life and it’s mainly due to the fantastic sounds Dickey and Duane came up with. If ever close to Macon GA. I recommend a visit to the “Big House”. It is a trip worth taking as these next few photos will attest.

The Big House