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HISTORICAL FACTS: 2 - The Untold Story

Dickey Betts obituary

Guitarist, singer and founding member of the Allman Brothers Band best known for writing their 1973 hit Ramblin’ Man

The Guardian - UK

“I liked to go to this old abandoned graveyard by the river to write songs. The gravestone next to where I was sitting said, ‘In Memory of Elizabeth Reed’, so that became the song’s title”: The 25 greatest Allman Brothers Band songs

From Dickey Betts’ iconic instrumentals to the tracks that made ABB one of rock’s most revered jam groups, here are the best Allman Brothers Band cuts from across their catalog – and the stories behind them

Guitar World

“We thought Ramblin’ Man was too country to record. We put it on the album, and it became a hit. Then it more and more became Dickey’s band”: Dickey Betts and Gregg Allman tell the full story of the Allman Brothers Band, one of rock’s greatest groups

In this career-spanning oral history from 2009, Betts, Allman, Warren Haynes, Butch Trucks and more retrace the turmoil, tragedies and triumphs behind the Allman Brothers Band

Guitar World

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Allman Brothers Band Co-Founder Dickey Betts Dies At 80

Remembering Dickey Betts, the influential guitarist and co-founder of the Allman Brothers Band, who shaped Southern rock and left a lasting musical legacy.

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Allman Brothers co-founder dies at 80

Betts, who had been suffering from ill-health since his last performance in 2018, died in his Florida home

Salon

“Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide”: Allman Brothers Band co-founder and legend of southern rock guitar Dickey Betts has died, aged 80

Betts wrote some of the Allman Brothers' biggest hits, including Ramblin’ Man, influencing a generation of players with a sound that threw all kinds of styles into the pot and made it work

MusicRadar

“Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt worldwide”: Dickey Betts, legendary co-founding guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, has died aged 80

Betts developed one of the most distinct and influential guitar styles in the history of rock

Guitar World

Marcus King: "I've been as inspired by the Wu-Tang Clan as I have by Aretha Franklin or Duane Allman"

The genre-defying Elixir® Strings artist talks about his rich musical vocabulary

MusicRadar

“What came off his guitar, you still don’t even know to this day what the hell he was doing”: these are the 10 greatest guitarists ever, according to The Black Crowes’ Rich Robinson

Louder

“Duane Allman played a great solo, came back, and Eric says, ‘Well, I want to do mine again!’ This went on for at least an hour or two”: How Eric Clapton went from God to all-'round guitar genius in the ‘70s

After the writing on the wall proclaimed him a deity in the '60s, where else was there to go for Eric Clapton but on a search of self-discovery, musical improvement, and new artistic frontiers

Guitar World

The 10 greatest slide guitar moments in rock

From Johnny Winter to Led Zeppelin, here’s how a hit of slide guitar can lift a song to the heavens

Louder

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“Eric Clapton played with a stately authority. It’s missing in guitar today. It seems every great player has to play very fast. It can be distasteful, honestly”: Scott Holiday says Slowhand’s slow hand is still the gold standard for expressive playing

Clapton remains an ever-present force in the Rival Sons star’s own sound – here’s why Holiday views his hero as one of the most influential guitarists of all time

Guitar World

Slide guitar is the ultimate test of feel – see if your skills are up to scratch and fine-tune your expressive playing with these genre-hopping licks

Be it bottleneck blues, pop-style melodies or rootsy riffs, slide skills are a must-have for any guitarist. Sharpen yours up with this slide deep-dive

Guitar World

The 22 most expensive guitars of all time

Fenders owned by Eric Clapton and Bob Dylan, Martins belonging to Kurt Cobain and David Gilmour, and one independently made axe headline the list of most profitable guitars sold at auction

Guitar World

“Yes, sir! Yes, sir!”: Duane Betts steps onstage with Marcus King and levels the venue with an outstanding cover of the Allman Brothers’ epic guitar jam, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

The two players add new life to Dickey Betts’ iconic instrumental in this excellent guest appearance

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Guitar World

Learn the playing styles of every Eric Clapton era with this epic lesson

Five EC pieces for the Slowhand in training...

Guitar World

Kenny Wayne Shepherd swaps his Fender Strat for Duane Allman’s ‘Layla’ Les Paul and sounds immediately at home

The Louisiana blues rocker made the most of his chance to perform with one of rock’s most historic Gibson Goldtops, worth $1.25m

Guitar World

How Gary Rossington played through the pain to define the quintessential Southern rock sound with Lynyrd Skynyrd

We pay tribute to the ultimate survivor, who broke every bone in his body and still kept the music going with a style that inspired generations of players

Guitar World

Duane Betts shares new single featuring Derek Trucks – and it’s a tribute to his dad, Allman Brothers founder Dickey Betts

Stare at the Sun is a “swampy” guitar-heavy tune inspired by a comment Trucks made about Betts Sr.’s playing style

Guitar World

Derek Trucks names 11 guitarists who shaped his sound

The Tedeschi Trucks Band slide maestro reveals his formative influences – from the obvious to the obscure – what he thinks is the "fiercest" guitar solo of all time, and why rhythm guitar is a lost art

Guitar World

Slash on his love of Les Pauls: “That Kris Derrig Les Paul came in the 11th hour when we were doing Appetite. It just sounded f**kin’ perfect – like a gift from on high”

The Guns N' Roses guitarist and rock icon talks about the guitars he treasures most – including buying and returning Joe Perry's Dark Burst LP – and reveals how his love for Les Pauls has inspired and shaped him as a player...

Louder

"He was selling guitars to raise ready cash to buy dope": The real story of the show that brought Eric Clapton back from the brink

By mid-1971 Eric Clapton was a recluse with a heroin habit, until friends including Pete Townshend and George Harrison intervened to save his life

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