Happy Birthday Dickey Betts: Picking With Vassar Clements
By Andy Kahn Dec 12, 2016 • 11:58 am PST
Founding The Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts celebrates his 73rd birthday today. The man born Forrest Richard Betts played his last show with the legendary Southern rock group in May 2000, but prior to his contentious departure Dickey was responsible for writing many of the group’s best-known songs such as “Jessica,” “Blue Sky,” “In Memory Of Elizabeth Reed” and many others.
Recent thawing of tensions has brought hope of a full reconciliation between Betts and the rest of the ABB, In the meantime, celebrate Dickey’s birthday today with a look back at a performance he participated in while The Allman Brothers were on hiatus back in the mid-1980s.
Betts appeared on an episode of Fire On The Mountain that featured live bluegrass musical performances. The program was filmed at the Stompin’ Ground in Maggie Valley, North Carolina and hosted by David Holt.
The footage below features renowned fiddle player Vassar Clements, of the supergroup Old & In The Way fame, leading a rendition of “I’ve Been to Georgia.” Clements had previously contributed to Betts’ 1974 debut solo album Highway Call. Betts can be seen showing off his acoustic guitar picking skills alongside bluegrass musicians John McEuen on banjo and Dave Salyer on guitar in the video below. Have a look:
