‘Ramblin’ Man’ Dickey Betts’ musical and life journey traces all over Florida
The “Ramblin’ Man” of the Allman Brothers was a Florida man, too.
Dickey Betts, a founding member and a lead guitarist of the trailblazing Southern rock group he formed with brothers Gregg and Duane Allman in Jacksonville in 1969, died Thursday at his Osprey home in Sarasota County, according to band management.
Betts was 80.
Betts wrote the band’s sole Top 10 single, “Ramblin’ Man,” in 1973 — a song that peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 that fall, held out of the top spot by “Half Breed,” a campy story song hit by Cher. The detail amuses trivia watchers because a couple years later in 1975 Gregg Allman would marry Cher in what became one of pop culture’s most unlikely of unions.
The Allmans had many adventures on the road both in and out of Florida and Betts split from the group in 2000. But there was plenty of Florida man in this ramblin’ man from the start of his career through the end.
In fact, the Betts name in Florida dates back to the Civil War.
Betts’ Florida history
Here are some of Betts’ Florida connections.
▪ Betts was born in West Palm Beach on Dec. 12, 1943. He was raised in Bradenton. His family’s roots in Florida date back to the southeastern Manatee County community of Myakka City, about the time of the Civil War, according to the Sarasota Herald-Trubune.
▪ Betts Road, named for the family, is just east of Bradenton in Myakka City.
▪ Betts formed a band, Second Coming, with bassist Berry Oakley, in Jacksonville in the late ‘60s. The pair would soon meet with the Allmans and form that band in the same locale in 1969.
▪ The Allman Brothers Band’s second album, “Idlewild South” that featured Betts compositions “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Revival,” with Tom Dowd producing, was the first of the group’s numerous albums to be either partly, or wholly, recorded at Criteria Studios in North Miami. Dowd preferred producing in South Florida. The Allmans also cut “Seven Turns” at Criteria in 1990, and mixed their 1995 live album, “2nd Set,” at Criteria.
▪ Betts recorded his second solo album “Dickey Betts & Great Southern” in 1977 at Criteria. He wrote the closing track. “Bougainvillea” with actor Don Johnson who, in seven years, would achieve worldwide fame as Sonny Crockett on NBC’s crime drama, “Miami Vice” for a five-season run from 1984 to 1989. Betts played guitar on Johnson’s high-profile debut album, “Heartbeat” on an upbeat track called “Love Roulette.” Johnson’s “Heartbeat,” released in 1986 amid the star’s “Miami Vice” fame, was also recorded at Criteria.
▪ The Allmans recorded their 1994 album, “Where It All Begins,” their last studio album with Dowd as producer, at Burt Reynold’s studio in Jupiter. Five of the 10 songs, including the title track, were Betts compositions. This was Betts’ last album with the band.
▪ Betts died on April 18, 2024, at his home in Osprey.
