That was Dickey doing real fine. Excellent singing and his unique guitar style which was such a huge part of the ABB sound. And Dickey's song writing too. 

Dickey was real fine.

Johnny Neel was real cringe.

@islalala Johnny apparently got into the ABB because of Dickey. In 1991 his contract was not renewed I understand because Gregg and Butch convinced Dickey that Johnny Neel wasn't a good fit and his playing didn't sync with the rest of the band. 

On Seven Turns with Tom Dowd producing, he seems fine. But the live shows I saw in 89 and 90 he sounded outside the tempo and groove the rest were laying down rather often. 

I know Warren Haynes also liked Johnny back then. He sounds fine on Dickey's Pattern Disruptive album too. And Matt Apts on drums is top notch on Pattern Disruptive. 

Yeah not knocking Johnny as a player --- dude could scorch and he certainly had his moments with the band. 

But his Jessica solo on this Nashville show 😣 ..... took away from a great song more than added. 

Ever heard Mike Kach in Dickey's band? I wonder if Dickey was trying to recreate Gregg or something. Kach can't pull it off. His vocals are just too different from Gregg's and I don't think his playing is nearly as good as Gregg was either. 

A few thoughts....great footage.  Thanks for sharing!  I think I saw some of that years ago, but not all.

Could someone have updated the host on Dickey's history?   Geez.  Those questions were uncomfortable.

John Neel was kind of entertaining on Blue Sky, but Jessica on that cheezy keyboard thing was cringy.  Can't believe Dickey OK'd that.  

Johnny was an odd sounding addition to the 1989 tour recordings I have....long synth solos, fake horns on the keyboards....oyyy.....f

But by 1990 and the Seven Turns album, he was excelent on piano in the mix.  His grand piano playing on the MTV Unplugged version of Seven Turns is part of what makes that the definitive version.  And by that summer tour the synth had been left behind in the 1980s, thankfully.  But I can see why they carried on without him despite the positive contributions to the Seven Turns album (love It Ain't Over Yet also).

The ABB members are/were the worst at recounting their own history and dates etc.  Dickey said he wrote Blue Sky in 1974.  He knows Duane played on that song in the studio and had to remember which year Duane died!

Dickey talks about the joint tour Dickey & Gregg had planned (that was one of the events that lead to the ABB reunion in 1989).

But overall.....an interesting peak into Dickey's history.  Thanks again for the share.

Dickey had such country chops and legitimacy, but when he went on Nashville Now and recorded a Nashville album (never released), he tried to copy Mickey Gilley instead of Waylon Jennings. Weird choices... especially since  MG had played it the week before. I know Dickey co-wrote it, so he had the right, but...

When Betts, Hall, Leavell, Trucks (Later Betts, Hall, Leavell after Butch quit) failed to gain traction and could not land a recording contract--Dickey broke up that band and moved to Nashville. 

The first thing I saw Dickey do after the move was tour with Hank Williams, Jr. They did a show on a battleship which was broadcast on television. Dickey sang Ramblin' Man then became one of the guitarists in Hank Williams' band. 

Word was Dickey was going to become part of the outlaw country artists with his own album and those artists included Hank Jr., David Allen Coe, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings etc. 

I think it was during this period Dickey met Warren Haynes and was impressed with Warren's side and lead playing. I think when Warren arrived to work on Dickey's country album, Dickey asked Warren where was his guitar and Warren said he was hired to sing background vocals. 

Also I seem to remember Warren said he was relieved when Dickey called and said he was going to do a rock album instead and asked Warren to play on it. Warren, if I remember correctly, was relieved because he thought Dickey's country album wasn't that good. 

Dickey did a country album in Nashville which featured "Nancy" which got released on the Dreams box set in 1989. I think that never released album was recorded when they also recorded Brothers Of The Road. 

Is this a different unreleased country album than the one Warren is on which wasn't released? 

@robertdee I believe it's the same album though he may have tinkered with it during the 1980s between BHLT and Pattern Disruptive. There's about 6 years there when Dickey was flirting with country music and there are at least 2 versions of "Nancy" that I've heard.

I also believe Warren met Dickey and Gregg during the Arista years as Brothers of the Road was recorded in Nashville. Warren tells a story about meeting them and playing acoustics late into the night, but one of the guitars was a lemon with high action that was difficult to play so they would swap that one around.

Here's an old thread about Dickey's Night album: https://allmanbrothersband.com/community/general-chat-anything-goes/dickey-betts-night-album/

http://skydogselysium.blogspot.com/2009/07/dickey-betts-night-1981.html

@porkchopbob Thank you. That clears up some questions I had. 

I do remember a Warren interview where he said while he too was living in Nashville he was brought in to be one of the background singers on Dickey's album and Dickey asked Warren where was his guitar. 

And Warren said the album wasn't working and he was relieved when Dickey called asking him to help him record a rock album and to bring his guitars. 

If Dickey had recorded an album with Ramblin' Man, Pony Boy, Long Time Gone type songs I think it would have been a good country rock type album.

When this began to be played on the album rock station here, I thought it was be a huge hit. But the album Pattern Disruptive didn't sell well. And it was the first time I had heard of Warren Haynes. I caught a show from the 1988 tour at a nightclub in my area and saw Warren for the first time. Dickey played his 1957 Goldie Les Paul and Warren played two different Paul Reed Smith guitars. 

If Dickey had a Nashville album with songs like this and took this sound on the road, he could have opened for Hank, Jr, Waylon Jennings or Willie Nelson and built a country rock following rather quickly I think. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WISHES TO DICKEY BETTS!!! 80 Years old today December 12th. 

Dickey song writing and guitar style is HUGE to us big-time Allman Brothers Band fans.