“In Memory Of . . . ” : Dickey Betts 1943 – 2024

On April 18,2024, Richard “Dickey” Betts, singer, guitarist, composer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, passed away at the age of 80. To say that Dickey Bett’s music had a profound influence on my music would be a major understatement. The first guitar solo I learned off a record was Bett’s solo on “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” off the classic At Fillmore East. But it was his instrumental compositions that really left their mark. Songs like “Les Brers in A Minor”, “Jessica”, “High Falls” and the aforementioned “Elizabeth Reed” provided a vision of how I wanted my music to sound and was a direct inspiration on my project The New Jazz Spasms (check out my YouTube channel ManRoy Music https://www.youtube.com/@ManRoyMusic/playlists for playlists of The New Jazz Spasms).

So here are videos of the classic Dickey Betts compositions “Jessica” (from Great Woods 1991) with Warren Haynes and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” (from The Fillmore East 1970) with the incomparable Duane Allman.

Allman Brothers Band – Jessica – Live at Great Woods 9-6-91

The Allman Brothers “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” 1970 HQ

Below is the audio of what is my favorite Dickey Betts guitar solo. It’s his solo on “One Way Out” from SUNY at Stonybrook 9/19/1970. You can tell from the intro that Dickey is on fire and his two chorus solo blows me away every time I hear it.

One Way Out – The Allman Brothers Band (SUNY-Stonybrook, 1971)