We’ve lost another one of the original Allman Brothers. Lead and rhythm guitarist Dickie Betts passed away on April 18, 2024. He was the consummate foil to his guitar partner, Duane Allman. In any other band, Dickie Betts would have been an outstanding lead guitarist in his own right. He started out in the shadow of Duane, yet added a different and complimentary style that made the Allman Brothers Band unique. The mastery of Betts and Allman weaving their licks on the live albums At Fillmore East and Eat A Peach is, in my opinion, incomparable in Rock music history. In Gregg Allman’s memoir, My Cross To Bear, he talks about how the band honed their skills by playing constantly. When they were in cites to perform concerts, they would spend their free time playing free shows at local parks. They were, arguably, the tightest jam band in Rock history. (The Tedeschi-Trucks Band, with their Allman Brothers pedigree, may be the next best thing.)
With the untimely death of Duane in 1971 at the age of 24, Betts became the sole guitar player in the band. Reluctant to find a Duane replacement, the band instead added the young and blossoming Chuck Leavell as a piano player to be the foil for Betts. After the death of their bass player and Duane’s kindred spirit, Berry Oakley, they recorded the album Brothers and Sisters, which became the band’s best-selling album. Betts wrote four of the seven songs including their biggest hit, Ramblin’ Man and the FM radio favorite, Jessica. This was when I first saw the band. They played at the now defunct Chicago Stadium on November 1, 1973. (A memorable streak for me as at the tender age of 17, I went to three concerts in three nights; The Moody Blues, Frank Zappa – yes, The Mothers on Halloween, and Allman Brothers Band.) All these years later, I am still going to concerts and music festivals and have already lined up five over the next five months. Yet, after all these years, when I think back to my favorite shows, that 1973 Allman Brothers show still stands out as my all-time favorite.
The Allman Brothers eventually went back to the two-guitar format, first with Warren Haynes and later with Derek Trucks. In the end, Gregg Allman had a falling out with Betts, and the Allman Brothers continued without him until they called it quits in 2014.
With the loss of Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks, Gregg Allman and now Dickie Betts, drummer Jaimoe is the only surviving member of the original band. With the love I have for this band, I am kicking off the weekend in memory of Dickie Betts with Allman Brothers Band and the Dickie Betts song, In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed.
