Allman Brothers Band's Dickey Betts Dead At 80
Allman Brothers Band member Richard "Dickey" Betts died on April 18 at the age of 80. The news was confirmed by his family in a post to his Instagram page. "It is with profound sadness and heavy hearts that the Betts family announce the peaceful passing of Forrest Richard 'Dickey' Betts," they wrote while mentioning he died at his home in Florida. Details were sparse following the announcement. "At this difficult time, the family asks for prayers and respect for their privacy in the coming days," the family added.
Betts was part of the original Allman Brothers Band from 1969 until their split in 1976. Several members of the original Allman Brothers Band reached tragic ends. Duane Allman and Berry Oakley died in motorcycle accidents in the early 70s and drummer Claude "Butch" Tracks died by suicide in 2017. Fellow band member Gregg Allman died from liver cancer in 2017.
Betts rejoined the band sporadically over the years for various reunion shows. But, in 2000, the band fired him, citing a decline in his guitar-playing ability. After retiring, Betts decided to hit the road again with a solo tour to continue the Allman Brothers' legacy. "Well, I got bored as hell sitting around here," he told Billboard in 2018, noting that an interview with Rolling Stone drummed up excitement from promoters at the time. Later that year, however, Betts underwent successful brain surgery after a slip and fall accident, though he ultimately experienced a minor stroke in the aftermath.
Dickey Betts formed his own band, but never forgot his roots
In 2017, Dickey Betts put his own band together called The Dickey Betts Band, and they performed songs from the Allman Brothers' catalogue. "The fans are telling me how much interest there is, and I am the guy now who can produce this music because I wrote half of it and participated in all of it," he told Billboard in June 2018. The band featured Dickey's son, Duane Betts, who helped in performing the classics. "My son kind of had to show me what I used to do and I had to re-learn it," Dickey told the publication. The guitar-playing veteran was focused on getting back to form, but was realistic about his expectations. "I feel kinda like Tiger Woods coming back," he told Dan Rather while sitting down for an interview for AXS TV in 2018. "I'm really trying to play par, ya know. I don't think you ever quite feel like you're there," Dickey added.
Initially, Dickey had no interest in being in charge of the Allman Brothers Band's legacy. "I actually never wanted to be the leader," he told Guitar Player magazine in 2019 (via Guitar.com). It appeared that Dickey's outlook changed following the death of Gregg Allman in 2017. Even though the pair had their differences over the years, they remained close at the end of Allman's life. "In the end, when he got really sick, of course I called him about every other day," Dickey told Billboard in June 2018.