Dickey Betts Says He’s Willing To Play With Gregg Allman Again

In a recent interview with the Wall Street Journal Gregg Allman extended an olive branch to his former The Allman Brothers Band mate Dickey Betts which indicated one of rock’s biggest feuds may be coming to a close. In a follow-up Betts issued a statement to his hometown paper revealing he’d like to perform with Gregg again and doesn’t hold a grudge against the keyboardist.

Dickey Betts issued a statement to Sarasota’s Herald-Tribune which said “I have no problem with Gregg, never have. Sure, it would be fun to play with him again. We’ll see where it goes.” The pair haven’t shared the stage together since Betts was famously removed from The Allman Brothers Band in 2000. Before we get our hopes up for a Gregg Allman/Dickey Betts & Great Southern tour there is the pesky problem of Dickey’s semi-retired status. Betts’ manager David Spero told the Herald-Tribune. “As far as Dickey’s concerned, he’s retired until he’s unretired, and I don’t know when or if that time will come.” Dickey Betts last performed in public at a Sarasota concert last November. Betts & Great Southern had a handful of May performances scheduled that were canceled. Spero also revealed the guitarist’s happiness that Gregg Allman has started playing Betts’ “Southbound” composition, “I could feel him smile when I talked to him last night.”

The thawing of the Betts/Allman relationship started when the Wall Street Journal’s Alan Paul asked Gregg about his recent intros to his solo band’s version of “Southbound” in which Allman notes Betts’ role in writing the song. “He should be credited for writing a very good song! Like they say, time heals. I haven’t seen him in a very long time and would be very open to it. In fact, I would love to play with him again,” Gregg said. Allman clarified he isn’t looking to form a band with Betts, “…just to jam! I love my band and I’m pretty set for guitar players, but I’d love to see Betts. We had our ups and down and all our demons. We had our problems, our ins and outs and our public embarrassments on both sides. But that’s all way behind us now. There’s nothing at all wrong with forgive and forget.”