The Allman Brothers Band
Dickey Betts and Je...
 
Notifications
Clear all

Dickey Betts and Jerry Jeff Walker, hotel room jam 1974

2 Posts
2 Users
1 Likes
734 Views
porkchopbob
(@porkchopbob)
Posts: 4316
Illustrious Member
Topic starter
 

Dickey starts playing "Hell & Highwater" of all tunes at about 2:30

Funny how some songs sit on the shelf. It works a lot better than it did with a full choir on the Arista album.

PorkchopBob Studio

 
Posted : June 20, 2022 2:25 pm
Rusty reacted
robertdee
(@robertdee)
Posts: 3704
Famed Member
 

Wow that is interesting!! Listened to it twice. Recorded June 30th 1974. In 1974 I saw two Gregg solo then two ABB shows that summer and a Dickey solo and Gregg solo that fall. The ABB was the number one band in America from September 1973 and through 1974. They did a ton of shows in 1973 but only 15 in 1974. About 15 weekends in a row. 

I read some years ago Mike Lawler who co-produced Reach For The Sky said Johnny Cobb, the other producer, stacked his voice for background vocals. Perhaps that is what we hear on the beginning of Hell and High Water instead of a choir. Or maybe not. The credits don't make it clear. But Thomas Cain is listed as background vocals for the song and Sherry Cobb is listed as background vocals for Famous Last Words. Written by Dickey and Bonnie Bramlett. Wonder when that was written? Wow Hell and High Water was around in 1974 yet it didn't get recorded until 1980. And it's a duet with Dickey and Gregg on lead vocals. Gregg and Dickey would do that on Southbound sometimes. 

Thanks Porkchopbob!! That is a nice discovery. 

Nobody To Run With apparently was recorded for a Dickey solo album in the early 80's that never came out. Then in 1994 it was recorded for Where It All Begins. I think Kirk West brought in the recording as they were set to record a Bob Dylan song as the first single track off the album and Nobody To Run With replaced it after the band heard it. 

Of course we know for some of Butch Trucks' blog postings in the 2000s that Butch wanted to record Warren's Rocking Horse for that album but Dickey refused to participate and insisted it would be Mean Woman Blues or nothing. 

And during that time we discovered Gregg did not like Nobody Knows on Shades of Two Worlds because Gregg felt it was a rip off of how the band arranged his Whipping Post with Dickey getting the writing credit. Gregg finally announced he would no longer sing it. But rather than taking it out of the setlist, Dickey started singing it himself. That made Gregg even madder about the song. Probably wasn't the right move by Dickey. 

The first time I heard Dickey sing it I wondered why. But he started singing Southbound when Dickey changed the arrangement. That change I think actually happened when Dickey began Great Southern. 

And I think I remember Change My Way Of Living sung by Gregg the first time I heard the band do it live. But Dickey sang it on the album with Warren on backup. 

 
Posted : June 20, 2022 10:13 pm
Share: