April 18, 2024 • 8 mins
Dickey Betts, legendary guitarist and singer best known for his work with the Allman Brothers, has died at age 80 at his home in Osprey, near Sarasota. Betts was born in Florida and grew up in the Bradenton area. We speak with musician Damon Fowler, who toured with the Dickey Betts Band in 2018, about Betts and his legacy.
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(00:00):
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. We have just learned within the last
hour or so about the passing ofDicky Betts, one of the great musicians
and one of the legends of rockover the years. Particularly if you're familiar
with Southern rock and all the genresthat touch on that, blues and country
and so on, then you definitelyknow who he is or was, and
(00:23):
he has just passed away at theage of eighty. We have on the
line Damon Fowler, who is aTampa Bay area native, is someone who
knew and worked with Dicky Betts.He was in the Dickey Betts Band on
what I believe turned out to bethe last tour in twenty eighteen. He's
performed with many of the greats overthe years, including Delbert McClinton, Edgar
Winter, and Greg Allman, amongothers. And he joins us now and
(00:45):
Beyond the News. Damon Fowler,Welcome, Hey, Gordon, how you
doing man well? Doing well underthe circumstances. Now, before we get
to anything else, you know youhave roots in the Tampa Bay area,
and of course Dicky Betts was bornin Florida, raised in Bradenton and had
some deep roots here in the TampaBay area in Manateee County. Yeah,
(01:07):
he loved Florida, man. Yeah, heck yeah, I love Florida too.
Now, obviously you had the chanceto play with him and work with
him late in his career. Beforethat, I'm sure you heard his music
before. When did you first hearhim and how did he influence you in
your career? Well, I'm fortyfive now. I started playing guitar when
(01:30):
I was ten, and my unclewas in a band that played around all
in the country circuit here in theeighties, around Tampa and mainly Tampa,
but you know, they'd go toPolk County every once in a while,
and basically in those days, youknow, it was a country style band.
But that meant George Jones and theAlman Brothers and Elvis Presley and skinnerd
(01:56):
And so I would see my uncleevery day. I lived with my grandma
parents' house, and my grandparents ranthis business out of their their house,
and on the weekends we would haveparties. And I thought everybody did this
on Sundays. I didn't grow upwatching football. I grew up hanging out
by the pool, grilling, playingmusic, and so my uncle's friends would
(02:17):
come over and we would all jamMy cousin plays drums, and you know,
in those days that those musicians inthe area, you know, talking
about Dicky Betts was like talking aboutEric Clapton or Jimmy Anddrix or just you
know, the next level, thehigh level guy. And so later in
my life when I had the opportunityto work with him, you know,
(02:38):
I mean, it was it waspretty surreal. You know, at first
it was like going to the superBowl every day. You know, Dicky
was very kind and and very generousand just brilliant, you know that.
Yeah, talk about his his legacy, and obviously it was a legacy that
was passed on to you through family, but talk about his legacy as as
(03:02):
you experienced it as somebody who wasjust one of the touchstones of the music
and somebody that was just as youput in the in the same league as
people like Clapton, as somebody whowas just an institution. Dicky was an
innovator. You know, he reallywas part of creating a major integral part
of creating a sound. You knowthat, you know, he and just
(03:27):
like all the all good music,you know, he brought in different influences.
He brought in different stuff, youknow, so when they when the
sound of the Almond Brothers, youknow, is like there's slide guitarist Dwayne
and Greg Almond was one of thegreatest white blues singers ever in my opinion.
You know, I love Greg Almond'svoice and the music with the Almond
(03:50):
Brothers, but if you really lookat it, the sound of the Almond
Brothers with all the harmonies, theweaving harmonies and stuff, you know,
that's really kind of taken from theWestern swing world, you know. And
and I know Dicky listened to alot of he liked Western swing, He
liked django, reinhard a lot,and music like that. You know,
(04:12):
so it really you know, theyoung musician when I would would hear the
stuff. You know. My favoriteone, I think is kind of Bird.
That's a song called It's a CharlieParker kind of tribute, and man,
it's it's just it's wacky sound andyou know, there's so many changes
and stuff in it, but it'sit's perfect, you know. And and
same with all with all this stuff. You know, Dicky wasn't arranger of
(04:36):
music, you know, he hadthese abilities to I mean, he was
a killer guitar player, but justI think the way he thought of music
was really the special thing about him. You know. He was really had
a great perspective and angle of lookingat music and really weaving in taking the
cool parts of things and weaving themen to creating his own brand of stuff.
(05:01):
You know. I don't think anywherein the world really you could go
play a major scale harmony, youknow, like like an Almond brother's harmony
and people not recognize it sounded likethe Almond Brothers, you know. And
Dicky was you know, with thechef, you know. And of course
you had the chance to work withhim, as we mentioned, you toured
(05:27):
with him in twenty eighteen. Andyou know what, did did he ever
share any nuggets of wisdom or somethingthat that kind of that kind of gave
you some insight and uh and reallyyou know that kind of enhanced your the
view that you already had studying andplaying and listening to his music. Well,
(05:50):
there wasn't just one. It waslike one giant nugget. You know.
I did a few tours with him. I've got to play on the
DVD and you know, and weplayed some warm up shows in Florida,
and I got to go to rehearsalsat his at his house, you know,
or not at his house, butat a house down here, and
(06:12):
just be one on one with him, to sit there with him, and
you know, he was the wholeThe whole experience was an eye opener for
me. So I can't say thatthere was one specific moment, but there
were, like just the entire experiencewas an incredible learning journey. You know,
there are a lot of people obviouslywho are going to be carrying on
(06:33):
his legacy, and including his sonDwayne, who I'm sure you know,
and uh, you can kind ofgive us kind of the final sum up
here. Somebody who's who's gonna,you know, right the write the story
of of Dicky Betts. What thatlegacy is going to mean to rock into
(06:54):
music going forward through time? Whatwhat what people? What are gonna be
people going to carry that they're gonnaremember fifty years from now, one hundred
years from now, when they,you know, look up and they discover
the music of Dicky Betts. Ithink they're going to discover that his music
not only has a lot of greatguitar playing in it, but it it
(07:15):
involves the use of space and andyou know he when you hear him play,
he's one of the He's one ofthe artists like Bbking that immediately after
about two or three notes, you'relike, man, he could be playing
on a on a Shanaia Twain recordor a you know, a Metallica record
or something you know, and andas soon as he starts playing, he
(07:39):
has this feel to it, andthere's space and that he's it's not if
he's never in a hurry. Hehas this great ability to build like this
nuanced solo and and so I don'tknow that's what what he's gonna leave on
the earth, but that's one ofthe things that really impresses me. I
think what he's gonna leave is just, you know, the beautiful fabric of
(08:03):
music that he's made that involves bluesand country and western swing and rock and
roll and jazz and world music.And you know, he was a really
special dude. We really appreciate yourtaking a moment. I know that you're
on the road on the way tosomeplace, and I really appreciate your taking
(08:24):
a moment to share with us yourinsights from listening to the music and working
with the man Dicky Betts. DamonFowler, a musician from here in the
Tampa Bay area who had the privilege, amongst many other great musicians, of
working with Dicky Betts. Thank youvery much for joining us on Beyond the
News. Hey, I'm honored todo it. Thank you so much for having me
Gordon Bird here with Beyond the News. We have just learned within the last
hour or so about the passing ofDicky Betts, one of the great musicians
and one of the legends of rockover the years. Particularly if you're familiar
with Southern rock and all the genresthat touch on that, blues and country
and so on, then you definitelyknow who he is or was, and
(00:23):
he has just passed away at theage of eighty. We have on the
line Damon Fowler, who is aTampa Bay area native, is someone who
knew and worked with Dicky Betts.He was in the Dickey Betts Band on
what I believe turned out to bethe last tour in twenty eighteen. He's
performed with many of the greats overthe years, including Delbert McClinton, Edgar
Winter, and Greg Allman, amongothers. And he joins us now and
(00:45):
Beyond the News. Damon Fowler,Welcome, Hey, Gordon, how you
doing man well? Doing well underthe circumstances. Now, before we get
to anything else, you know youhave roots in the Tampa Bay area,
and of course Dicky Betts was bornin Florida, raised in Bradenton and had
some deep roots here in the TampaBay area in Manateee County. Yeah,
(01:07):
he loved Florida, man. Yeah, heck yeah, I love Florida too.
Now, obviously you had the chanceto play with him and work with
him late in his career. Beforethat, I'm sure you heard his music
before. When did you first hearhim and how did he influence you in
your career? Well, I'm fortyfive now. I started playing guitar when
(01:30):
I was ten, and my unclewas in a band that played around all
in the country circuit here in theeighties, around Tampa and mainly Tampa,
but you know, they'd go toPolk County every once in a while,
and basically in those days, youknow, it was a country style band.
But that meant George Jones and theAlman Brothers and Elvis Presley and skinnerd
(01:56):
And so I would see my uncleevery day. I lived with my grandma
parents' house, and my grandparents ranthis business out of their their house,
and on the weekends we would haveparties. And I thought everybody did this
on Sundays. I didn't grow upwatching football. I grew up hanging out
by the pool, grilling, playingmusic, and so my uncle's friends would
(02:17):
come over and we would all jamMy cousin plays drums, and you know,
in those days that those musicians inthe area, you know, talking
about Dicky Betts was like talking aboutEric Clapton or Jimmy Anddrix or just you
know, the next level, thehigh level guy. And so later in
my life when I had the opportunityto work with him, you know,
(02:38):
I mean, it was it waspretty surreal. You know, at first
it was like going to the superBowl every day. You know, Dicky
was very kind and and very generousand just brilliant, you know that.
Yeah, talk about his his legacy, and obviously it was a legacy that
was passed on to you through family, but talk about his legacy as as
(03:02):
you experienced it as somebody who wasjust one of the touchstones of the music
and somebody that was just as youput in the in the same league as
people like Clapton, as somebody whowas just an institution. Dicky was an
innovator. You know, he reallywas part of creating a major integral part
of creating a sound. You knowthat, you know, he and just
(03:27):
like all the all good music,you know, he brought in different influences.
He brought in different stuff, youknow, so when they when the
sound of the Almond Brothers, youknow, is like there's slide guitarist Dwayne
and Greg Almond was one of thegreatest white blues singers ever in my opinion.
You know, I love Greg Almond'svoice and the music with the Almond
(03:50):
Brothers, but if you really lookat it, the sound of the Almond
Brothers with all the harmonies, theweaving harmonies and stuff, you know,
that's really kind of taken from theWestern swing world, you know. And
and I know Dicky listened to alot of he liked Western swing, He
liked django, reinhard a lot,and music like that. You know,
(04:12):
so it really you know, theyoung musician when I would would hear the
stuff. You know. My favoriteone, I think is kind of Bird.
That's a song called It's a CharlieParker kind of tribute, and man,
it's it's just it's wacky sound andyou know, there's so many changes
and stuff in it, but it'sit's perfect, you know. And and
same with all with all this stuff. You know, Dicky wasn't arranger of
(04:36):
music, you know, he hadthese abilities to I mean, he was
a killer guitar player, but justI think the way he thought of music
was really the special thing about him. You know. He was really had
a great perspective and angle of lookingat music and really weaving in taking the
cool parts of things and weaving themen to creating his own brand of stuff.
(05:01):
You know. I don't think anywherein the world really you could go
play a major scale harmony, youknow, like like an Almond brother's harmony
and people not recognize it sounded likethe Almond Brothers, you know. And
Dicky was you know, with thechef, you know. And of course
you had the chance to work withhim, as we mentioned, you toured
(05:27):
with him in twenty eighteen. Andyou know what, did did he ever
share any nuggets of wisdom or somethingthat that kind of that kind of gave
you some insight and uh and reallyyou know that kind of enhanced your the
view that you already had studying andplaying and listening to his music. Well,
(05:50):
there wasn't just one. It waslike one giant nugget. You know.
I did a few tours with him. I've got to play on the
DVD and you know, and weplayed some warm up shows in Florida,
and I got to go to rehearsalsat his at his house, you know,
or not at his house, butat a house down here, and
(06:12):
just be one on one with him, to sit there with him, and
you know, he was the wholeThe whole experience was an eye opener for
me. So I can't say thatthere was one specific moment, but there
were, like just the entire experiencewas an incredible learning journey. You know,
there are a lot of people obviouslywho are going to be carrying on
(06:33):
his legacy, and including his sonDwayne, who I'm sure you know,
and uh, you can kind ofgive us kind of the final sum up
here. Somebody who's who's gonna,you know, right the write the story
of of Dicky Betts. What thatlegacy is going to mean to rock into
(06:54):
music going forward through time? Whatwhat what people? What are gonna be
people going to carry that they're gonnaremember fifty years from now, one hundred
years from now, when they,you know, look up and they discover
the music of Dicky Betts. Ithink they're going to discover that his music
not only has a lot of greatguitar playing in it, but it it
(07:15):
involves the use of space and andyou know he when you hear him play,
he's one of the He's one ofthe artists like Bbking that immediately after
about two or three notes, you'relike, man, he could be playing
on a on a Shanaia Twain recordor a you know, a Metallica record
or something you know, and andas soon as he starts playing, he
(07:39):
has this feel to it, andthere's space and that he's it's not if
he's never in a hurry. Hehas this great ability to build like this
nuanced solo and and so I don'tknow that's what what he's gonna leave on
the earth, but that's one ofthe things that really impresses me. I
think what he's gonna leave is just, you know, the beautiful fabric of
(08:03):
music that he's made that involves bluesand country and western swing and rock and
roll and jazz and world music.And you know, he was a really
special dude. We really appreciate yourtaking a moment. I know that you're
on the road on the way tosomeplace, and I really appreciate your taking
(08:24):
a moment to share with us yourinsights from listening to the music and working
with the man Dicky Betts. DamonFowler, a musician from here in the
Tampa Bay area who had the privilege, amongst many other great musicians, of
working with Dicky Betts. Thank youvery much for joining us on Beyond the
News. Hey, I'm honored todo it. Thank you so much for having me
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