RIP Dickey Betts - Allman Brothers

[muppy]

 

[Bill from NYC]

"Blue Skies" was as good as it gets. RIP Dickey.

[babulator]

RIP Dickey, you'll be missed.

 

Dickey was most recently playing with his band(s) The Dickey Betts Band & Great Southern. He was asked to leave the ABB due to his resurgence of heavy drinking and alcoholism in the 90's. Gregg was suffering liver failure and his drinking days had long been behind him when Dickeys drinking flared up again (Gregg and Dickey battled alcoholism on and off most of their adult lives). Dickey was able to sober up afterwards and his band(s) and shows moving forward were worth while.

 

Dickeys son and Greggs son currently play together in a "Revival" band that is pretty fantastic. They came to Klienhans last year and put on a great show! Highgly recommend if you're a fan of ABB music.

[Irv]

I read Gregg’s book.  He was not complementary to Dickey may he rest in peace.  

[Sierra Foothills]

21 hours ago, SoMAn said:

I was in Buffalo several years ago, and I swear it was for a Bills season opener, but I’m having trouble trying to figure out exactly which game it was. 

I can’t remember if it was the following day or exactly when, but I had to catch a flight back to Atlanta and I saw several flight cases (used for music gear among other things) out on the curb at the airport drop off with the name Allman Brothers stenciled on all of them. 
I didn’t realize that the Allman Brothers had been playing at Darien Lake that weekend, otherwise I would’ve tried to catch them. 

I was standing in the security line, waiting to go through the metal detectors and so forth, and I look back and the guy standing directly behind me was Gregg Allman with some girl. One of my closest friends here in Atlanta is an Allman Brothers disciple and I was half tempted to call my friend Scott (with my Nokia cell) and ask Gregg if he would say hello. Gregg is pretty low-key so I didn’t want to bother him so I never did. I've got some other Gregg/Cher stories from the days when they'd come to Buffalo and hit Stage 1, a regular nightspot for us in Clarence. 
I’ve played with a couple of dudes who played with the Allman Brothers (not that I’m exactly in the same league). One of them, the guitar player who backed Gregg on his laid-back tour on 1974, just passed away a couple of months ago. Playing with him was a pleasure, but it also put things in perspective of how good some of these real pros are. 
I loaned him my slide and he show me how it’s done properly. 
The Allman Brothers, my estimation are probably one of the best or the best American band ever. 
Somewhere I have a bunch of pictures from the Rose Hill cemetery in Macon, where Elizabeth Reid, Little Martha, and now Duane, Gregg, and Berry are all buried.

Long live the Allman Brothers

Side notes, Buffalo connections:

When Duane got hooked on H back in the early 70's, he did his rehab in Buffalo. That may be the same reason that Gregg was coming frequently in the late 70's. IDK.  

Also in the early days when they were just getting started, they played at a club in Buffalo and the a-hole owner wouldn't pay them after the gig. I'm not surprised. I had similar issues living there when I was young. Anyway, bassist Berry Oakley went to collect the $1000 from Angelo Aliotta, owner of Aliotta's, the gin joint where they played.  Aliotta was only willing to part with $500. Road manger Twiggs Lyndon got in the middle of it, stabbed and killed Aliotta.  I believe Twiggs got off using a 'temporary insanity' plea, stating that working for the Allman brothers made him crazy. It actually worked!

 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/117973625/angelo-aliotta

 

21 hours ago, stuvian said:

what will become of music when all the great ones like Dickey Betts are dead? 

 

Thank God for Billy Strings, among others.

 

12 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

"Blue Skies" was as good as it gets. RIP Dickey.

 

There is no single song that captures the essence of romantic love, sunshine, blue skies, and pastoral beauty like Blue Sky. It touches the soul with beauty every time.

 

11 hours ago, babulator said:

RIP Dickey, you'll be missed.

 

Dickey was most recently playing with his band(s) The Dickey Betts Band & Great Southern. He was asked to leave the ABB due to his resurgence of heavy drinking and alcoholism in the 90's. Gregg was suffering liver failure and his drinking days had long been behind him when Dickeys drinking flared up again (Gregg and Dickey battled alcoholism on and off most of their adult lives). Dickey was able to sober up afterwards and his band(s) and shows moving forward were worth while.

 

Dickeys son and Greggs son currently play together in a "Revival" band that is pretty fantastic. They came to Klienhans last year and put on a great show! Highgly recommend if you're a fan of ABB music.

 

Perhaps no band has as many musical offspring as the ABB. The sons of Berry Oakley, Dickey Betts, Butch Trucks, and Gregg Allman are accomplished musicians.

 

10 hours ago, Irv said:

I read Gregg’s book.  He was not complementary to Dickey may he rest in peace.  

 

It's said that Gregg and Dickey reconciled before Greg's death sometime between the release of the book and his death 5 years later.

 

 

[AlCowlingsTaxiService]

22 hours ago, stuvian said:

what will become of music when all the great ones like Dickey Betts are dead? 

You’ve got Taylor swift … no worries 

[SinceThe70s]

14 hours ago, Bill from NYC said:

"Blue Skies" was as good as it gets. RIP Dickey.

 

That song can quickly snap me out of a foul mood. The vocals, guitar work and vibe are hard to match. RIP.

 

Also love this one.

 

 

[PastaJoe]

I saw him play at the NY State Fair a few years ago. It was a 2pm show and he said that was usually the time he was waking up. He was a bit upset because he said he only had time to play Allman Brothers songs and not his solo work.

[T&C]

Nice 10 minute watch... I never knew that about Elizabeth Reed lol.