The influential guitarist, songwriter and singer was best known for the song „Ramblin‘ Man.“ Betts’s blues, rock and country-influenced guitar style helped define Southern rock in the 1960s and ’70s.
Dickey Betts, a founding member of the renowned rock group the Allman Brothers Band, died at at his home in Osprey, Fla. on Thursday. The influential guitarist, songwriter and vocalist had been battling two kinds of cancer as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was 80 years old.
The news was shared on Betts‘ official website in a statement by his family.
„Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide,“ the statement said.
Betts‘ blues, rock and country-influenced guitar style helped define Southern rock in the 1960s and ’70s.
„Dickey was one of the most unique guitar stylists in the word, and you knew it was him when you heard him on record or live,“ said longtime Allman Brothers member Chuck Leavell, who currently serves as the Rolling Stones‘ music director/keyboard player, in a statement shared with NPR.
