Guest Book

Without Duane Allman Dicky Betts would not have become Dicky Betts (and that is true for every other member of the original band). However, without Dicky Betts there would have been no 1972 Brothers and Sisters album, at least not as we know it. Without Brothers and Sisters the ABB would have been a legendary live band from the Fillmore East, FM radio, counterculture audience days of the late 60's and very early 70's without the ability to fully replicate that sound again. Brothers and Sisters is the reason why 75% of their fans, including my brother and I, went on to buy all of their older Albums when Duane was alive including Derek and the Dominoes. Betts, Gregg, Leavell, Jaimoe and Butch are as responsible for making Duane Allman the legend that Duane Allman went on to become as Duane was himself. But as for Betts' unique contribution, and to me this is heart and soul of the whole Live at the Fillmore album, Whipping Post. Duane's solo is first, and he’s obviously a guitar genius showing off all of his creativity, ability, speed, fluidity and control but it has a little bit of a feeling of wrote mastery (at least for him). But when Betts takes the second-guitarist solo he weaves a composition with movements leading the band into a musical range from gospel camp revival to the Fires of Hell (where you can actually hear Betts' audibly yell when he crescendos) and again back down to the sweetest playing of 'three blind mice' before leading the band back into the fire. That one recording of Whipping Post at the Fillmore in March 1971 made the Allman Brothers the Allman Brothers. In my opinion, it is Betts’ masterpiece. He takes the band on a wonderous journey fully supported with brilliant reactionary and dynamic ‘compose on the fly’ musicianship from the whole band. I went to see Dickey in Greenwood Lake, NY in 1977 shortly after the split up of the Allman Brothers band. Drugs and alcohol had taken their toll. Happily, he pulled out of that period, as did the rest of the ABB fighting similar demons. I've always felt that Dickey was relegated to the stereotype of a 'hot guitarist' who could hold his own with Duane Allman but he was as important to the creation of the legend of the Allman Brothers as Duane Allman was himself. One of my favorite stories from reading many ABB biographies was of Duane being asked to go on a bike ride by the band's roadies in Macon during an off week. Duane looked around and saw Dickie in the back room of 'the big house' practicing his guitar and Allman replied to the bikers 'I gotta practice'. Allman knew the power of Betts playing. Betts kept Allman on his toes as much as Allman kept Betts on his. That's a tribute to Allman and to Betts. Allman understanding Betts' greatness still concluded 'my band will be better with this brooding fallen Angel whose playing testifies as clearly as Bix Biederbeck's to the scars of trial-by-fire, the repentance of a broken soul and the acceptance of the gift of divine mercy then it would be without him' and Duane was 1000% right. That takes real guts and confidence. No affronts will befall them now. Archangels will listen in awe and crush all assailants. rt