Hi all, truly a sad day....I knew this day would come but it still comes as a blow to the heart. Mr Dickey Betts was and will always be my favorite player. He was my Roy Rogers, my John Wayne, the guy that always made you appreciate the art form of music. This is like a family member passing! At lease we have lots of music to cherish, and I'm sure we will all continue to do so. I nervously got to meet him once in a parking lot before a Great Southern show. I had a great picture and a Sharpie ready for an autograph. I handed him the photo and pen and wouldn't you know it.....the sharpie had dried out! I fumbled for another pen and he looked at me like he was gonna kill me! He signed, put his hand on my shoulder and said. "Son, git yore shit together". I was up front later and he smiled and threw me a couple of picks. Another time I actually got to noodle on Goldie before the gig started.
Songwriting and composing aside, I think Dickey was the craftiest rhythm player ever. I still marvel how he could hide chord structures within melodies and accentuate the solos of the other players he would be backing. As he said, "You gotta know where to leave the holes".
I hope you had a peaceful passing, Sir. The great band in the afterlife are all circling to greet one of the best to ever hit the note.
Kind regards and sympathy to all the Family and Friends.
Gonna be a late and loud at my house tonight.
Peace to all.
Totally devastated. Rest easy Brother.
Thank you Dickey Betts for all the endless joy you brought to my life. There was only one Dickey Betts. One of the best to ever do it. There really are no words that would do justice for what this man meant to all of us. Thinking of all his loved ones. God Bless Dickey Betts and long live the Allman Brothers Band.
Bottom Line nightclub NYC 1983. I was drinking a shot of tequila and Dickey gave me "the nod" from the stage.
Hell at the Bottom Line I was only 15 feet away!
Thanks Dickey.
We're still here ramblin' and gamblin' and rollin' on down the line.
Rock In Peace Brother Betts! What a career, and what a trove of music we have from him to enjoy.
havent been around these forums in ages, and nice to see/remember some of the screen names from the past.
I’m about to put my Eat A Peach flag up on the flagpole and crank some live ABB in his honor!
EAPFtheCatInTheHat!!!
DownSouth / Dennis
What a huge loss. I met him around 2006 in St Pete. Pedro got us passes (myself and his little brother Jeff, who’s now in Goose). Berry sat in during Whipping Post and the bass amp blew up. Dickey was pissed. He was banging on Garrett Dawson’s floor tom and rolled around on stage after putting in a fat dip waiting for a replacement during the extended drum break.
He was still pretty pissed after the show but he played awesome. Only time I ever saw him play a Tele live
He was a living legend and such an inspiration. RIP 🕊️🍄🍑🎶
RIP Dickey
The legacy of music you left behind will be cherished forever.
Sad but strangely happy too
Back to where it all begins
You gotta think Dickey plugged in Goldie up there and Duane just started laughing... and Gregg warms up the B3 with Barry thumping the bass... then into Hot Lanta.
Dickey is one of the All Time Greats. His tone was just pure "Sweetness". Dickey is to Rock 'n' Roll what Walter Payton was to the Chicago Bears. My memories are long and fond. I asked it when he was with us and I'll ask as he's left us. May God Bless Forrest Richard Betts! RIP Sir.
RIP Dickey and thank you for everything.
There's going to be a great gig in the sky tonight ... thank you Dickey ... rest peacefully ...
@stormyrider That is a fact. They were both at the top of their game and both played lines & solos that are forever etched in our musical minds.
RIP Dickey, thanks for the great music that brings us so much warmth and joy.
My guitar hero has left us but his music and memories will be with us forever. RIP Dickey
“Sail on sail away
may all your dreams come true one day
sail on sail away
I wonder why I ever thought you’d stay”
-
he dedicated it to Duane & Berry years ago
well Dickey Betts Did stay for his full lifespan
now he has moved on to the next stop, whatever wherever that might be
in their grief his family/loved ones/friends must feel proud of a life so well lived
I feel bad for Jaimoe, once there were 6 now there is 1. That must be a weird feeling. RIP to the Ranger, God bless
RIP TO MY ABSOLUTE GUITAR HERO DICKEY BETTS. To put it simple, the tune "Jessica" is my favorite song of all time, written by Dickey with the original and best version found on the Allman Brothers Band album Brothers and Sisters....and I got to tell Dickey that when I spent an incredible 45 minutes in his suite of his tour bus in Cincinnati in 2005, trading Vassar Clement stories, and giving him Jerry Douglas' version of Duane Allman's song "Little Martha" to listen to. Last night at the Funkupation Funk Show in downtown Boone, NC, I sat in on a couple and at the end of the second song, I threw in the melody to "Jessica," and that made me feel good. Onward and upward. Time for us to keep moving and make the best out of life....and time for another band to rise up out of somewhere and plow some new musical ground in the same vein as the ABB. Cheers!
Numb.
Rusty- What a great story!
I am very saddened at the demise of the Cat in the Hat. I've loved him and the ABB since I first heard their first album at age 12 or 13.At that time Cross to Bear was my favorite song. By the time I went to college At Fillmore East and Eat a Peach were on permanent rotation on my stereo. The instrument tals were my choice for tunes whilst writing papers. RIP Dickey
.
Sometimes things like that just come together, like a piece of magic. I wrote that song in just five minutes”: Dickey Betts on dueling with Duane Allman, composing Allman Brothers' biggest hit, and the oddball Les Paul/SG hybrid he “personally designed”
https://www.guitarplayer.com/features/dickey-betts-interview-2019
