Dickey Betts

Though he was best known as Duane Allman's guitar sparring partner in the Allman Brothers Band, Dickey Betts also had a number of solo albums to his credit, the first hailing from 1974. Allman got more attention, but Betts was every inch his instrumental equal, not to mention the fact that the latter wrote some of the Allmans' best tunes (“Blue Sky,” “Ramblin' Man,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed”) and continued to lead the band's guitar assault through the '80s and '90s after Duane's death. After a bitter split with the band in 2000, Betts focused more closely on his solo career. Betts passed away on April 18, 2024.