Dickey Betts, a co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band and one of the most influential and colourful figures in the realm of music known loosely as southern rock, has died following a period of declining health. His passing at 80 years old leaves just co-drummer Jai Johanny Johanson, aka Jaimo, as the last surviving member of the original line-up of the group.
A statement on behalf of the band recalled how Betts’s “extraordinary” guitar playing, alongside that of Duane Allman, “created a unique dual-guitar sound that became the signature sound”. Until that point it had been traditional for two-guitar bands to have defined roles for soloists and rhythm players.
The statement remembers Betts as being “passionate in life, be it music, songwriting, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate or boxing”, adding: “Dickey was all-in on and excelled at anything that caught his attention.”
It concluded: “Betts joins
