Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their greatest hit, Ramblin’ Man, has died. He was 80.
The Rock & Roll Corridor of Famer died at his dwelling in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, Betts’ supervisor of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been recognized with most cancers and had persistent obstructive pulmonary illness, Spero mentioned.
“He was surrounded by his complete household and he handed peacefully. They didn’t assume he was in any ache,” Spero mentioned by telephone.
Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman within the unique Allman Brothers Band to assist in giving the group its distinctive sound and create a brand new style – southern rock. Acts together with Lynyrd Skynyrd, Child Rock, Phish and Jason Isbell – amongst many others – had been influenced by the Allmans’ music, which mixed the blues, nation, R&B and jazz with 60s rock.
Based in 1969, the Allmans had been a pioneering jam band, trampling the standard notion of three-minute pop songs by performing prolonged compositions in live performance and on document. The band was additionally notable as a biracial group from the deep south.
Duane Allman died in a bike accident in 1971, and founding member Berry Oakley was killed in a bike crash a 12 months later. That left Betts and Allman’s youthful brother Gregg because the band’s leaders, however they incessantly clashed, and substance abuse triggered additional dysfunction. The band broke up no less than twice earlier than reforming, and has had greater than a dozen lineups.
The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Corridor of Fame in 1995 and earned a lifetime achievement Grammy award in 2012. Betts left the group for good in 2000, and in addition performed solo and together with his personal band Nice Southern, which included his son, guitarist Duane Betts.
The group launched a self-titled debut album in 1969. A 12 months later got here the album Idlewild South, highlighted by Betts’ instrumental composition In Reminiscence of Elizabeth Reed, which quickly turned a live performance staple.
The 1971 double album At Fillmore East, now thought of among the many best reside albums of the basic rock period, was the Allmans’ industrial breakthrough and cemented their performing repute by showcasing the distinctive guitar interaction between Allman and Betts.
The group additionally had two drummers – “Jaimoe” Johanson, who’s Black, and Butch Vehicles.
Duane Allman died 4 days after Fillmore was licensed as a gold document, however the band carried on and crowds continued to develop. The 1973 album Brothers and Sisters rose to No 1 on the charts and featured Ramblin’ Man, with Betts singing the lead and bringing twang to the High 40. The music reached No 2 on the singles charts and was stored out of the No 1 spot by Half Breed by Cher, who later married Gregg Allman.
The hovering sound of Betts’ guitar on Ramblin’ Man reverberated in neighborhood bars across the nation for many years, and the music underscored his knack for melodic hooks. Ramblin’ Man was the Allmans’ solely prime 10 hit, however Betts’ catchy seven-and-a-half-minute instrumental composition Jessica, recorded in 1972, turned an FM radio staple.
Betts additionally wrote or co-wrote among the band’s different best-loved songs, together with Blue Sky and Southbound. In later years the group remained a profitable touring act with Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. Gregg Allman and Butch Vehicles died in 2017.
After leaving the Allmans for good, Betts continued to play together with his personal group and lived within the Bradenton space together with his spouse, Donna.
