Dickey Betts was a guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as one of the founding members of the iconic classic rock act the Allman Brothers Band and the writer of classics like “Ramblin’ Man,” “Blue Sky” and “Jessica.”
- Died: April 18, 2024 (Who else died on April 18?)
- Details of death: Died of cancer and pulmonary disease at the age of 80.
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Dickey Betts’ legacy
Born and raised in Florida, Betts was playing the ukulele by five years old, and by the time he was a teen was already a major talent on multiple stringed instruments. He grew up with bluegrass and country, but by high school decided to try his hand at the then still-new genre of rock and roll. He had an act of his own, Second Coming, when, in 1969, he met someone who would truly change his life: Duane Allman (1946–1971).
As a member of the Allman Brothers Band, Betts was ostensibly there to support Duane Allman’s own fiery guitar work, but he quickly established his own place in the band on the strength of not just his guitar chops, but his singing and songwriting, too. One of the band’s biggest hits, “Ramblin’ Man,” was a Betts composition. He also wrote “Jessica,” “Revival,” the massive jam “Blue Sky,” and other songs when not trading licks with Allman. Betts effectively took on the band’s lead role after Allman’s death in 1971.
He launched a solo career in 1974 with “Highway Call” and continued to release records on and off for the rest of his career, often as Dickey Betts & Great Southern or the Dickey Betts Band. He was in and out of the Allman Brothers over the years as the group repeatedly broke up and reformed in new incarnations, splitting with them for good in the early 2000s.
Betts’ work with the Allman Brothers is considered among the most influential in rock. He was twice named among the 100 best guitarists by Rolling Stone. He and the band are in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, earned a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, and Betts’ composition, “Jessica” — which later became the theme for the TV show “Top Gear” — also won a Grammy.
On writing “Blue Sky”
“I was married to a Native American woman at the time, and her name was Blue Sky. I wrote it with that in mind. Then I decided to take the personal thing out of it and give it more of a spiritual, thank you for the day, kind of song, and I think I made it a much better song.” — interview with Goldmine magazine, 2019
Tributes to Dickey Betts
Full obituary: Rolling Stone
