Dickey Betts Drove His Own Rhythm Through His Life and Ours

There won’t be another Dickey Betts, whose harmonies drove more than Allman Brothers Band hits like “Jessica” and “Ramblin’ Man,” anytime soon. The original honky-tonk hellraiser forged his own path through life and, ultimately, created Southern Rock along the way. We’ll always remember the music Dickey Betts gave us, and we’ll also remember the man, too.

Like we’ve said in many newsletters, music plays a central role in how we view our world on top of a soundtrack to our lives. Garrett’s relationship with Dickey Betts and the Allman Brothers Band is deeply personal. He met Dickey back in the 1980s at the same Blues bar he first met Gregg Allman. Dickie signed Garrett’s poster and mentioned that he’d like to have this “real piece of history” above his fireplace. Garrett’s reply? “I’ll trade ya for Duane’s Les Paul Sunburst you have,” to Dickey’s chuckle.

Hot-headed even for a Southern man, Dickey’s ups and downs were worn on his shirtsleeves. His life was a loose inspiration for Cameron Crowe’s main character, played by Billy Crudup, in the film “Almost Famous.” (Betts doesn’t remember jumping off a roof into a pool, although he doesn’t discount that it may have happened.) Much like Dickey’s harmonies through the songs he wrote, his rhythm and tempo pace us through our lives with a drive that we’ll never forget. We’ll miss Dickey, his music, his mission, and his creativity. We only hope to have as much fun in our lives as he did in his.

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