Guitar legend Dickey Betts, who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, B次元官网网址淩amblinB次元官网网址� Man,B次元官网网址� has died. He was 80.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famer died at his home in Osprey, Florida, David Spero, BettsB次元官网网址� manager of 20 years, confirmed. Betts had been battling cancer for more than a year and had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Spero said.

B次元官网网址淗e was surrounded by his whole family and he passed peacefully. They didnB次元官网网址檛 think he was in any pain,B次元官网网址� Spero said by phone.

Betts shared lead guitar duties with Duane Allman in the original Allman Brothers Band to help give the group its distinctive sound and create a new genre B次元官网网址� Southern rock. Acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd to Kid Rock were influenced by the AllmansB次元官网网址� music, which combined the blues, country, R&B and jazz with B次元官网网址�60s rock.

Founded in 1969, the Allmans were a pioneering jam band, trampling the traditional notion of three-minute pop songs by performing lengthy compositions in concert and on record. The band was also notable as a biracial group from the Deep South.

Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident in 1971, and founding member Berry Oakley was killed in a motorcycle crash a year later. That left Betts and AllmanB次元官网网址檚 younger brother Gregg as the bandB次元官网网址檚 leaders, but they frequently clashed, and substance abuse caused further dysfunction. The band broke up at least twice before reforming, and has had more than a dozen lineups.

The Allman Brothers Band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1995 and earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 2012. Betts left the group for good in 2000, and also played solo and with his own band Great Southern, which included his son, guitarist Duane Betts.

Forrest Richard Betts was born Dec. 12, 1943, and was raised in the Bradenton, Florida, area, near the highway 41 he sang about in B次元官网网址淩amblinB次元官网网址� Man.B次元官网网址� His family had lived in area since the mid-19th century.

Betts grew up listening to country, bluegrass and Western swing, and played the ukulele and banjo before focusing on the electric guitar because it impressed girls. At 16 he left home for his first road trip, joining the circus to play in a band.

He returned home, and with bassist Oakley joined a group that became the Jacksonville, Florida-based band Second Coming. One night in 1969 Betts and Oakley jammed with Duane Allman, already a successful session musician, and his younger brother, and together they formed the Allman Brothers Band.

The group moved to Macon, Georgia, and released a self-titled debut album in 1969. A year later came the album B次元官网网址淚dlewild South,B次元官网网址� highlighted by BettsB次元官网网址� instrumental composition B次元官网网址淚n Memory of Elizabeth Reed,B次元官网网址� which soon became a concert staple.

The 1971 double album B次元官网网址淎t Fillmore East,B次元官网网址� now considered among the greatest live albums of the classic rock era, was the AllmansB次元官网网址� commercial breakthrough and cemented their performing reputation by showcasing the unique guitar interplay between Allman and Betts. Their styles contrasted, with Allman playing bluesy slide guitar, while BettsB次元官网网址� solos and singing tugged the band toward country. When layered in harmony, their playing was especially distinctive.

The group also had two drummers B次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淛aimoeB次元官网网址� Johanson, who is Black, and Butch Trucks.

Duane Allman died four days after B次元官网网址淔illmoreB次元官网网址� was certified as a gold record, but the band carried on and crowds continued to grow. The 1973 album B次元官网网址淏rothers and SistersB次元官网网址� rose to No. 1 on the charts and featured B次元官网网址淩amblinB次元官网网址� Man,B次元官网网址� with Betts singing the lead and bringing twang to the Top 40. The song reached No. 2 on the singles charts and was kept out of the No. 1 spot by B次元官网网址淗alf BreedB次元官网网址� by Cher, who later married Gregg Allman.

The soaring sound of BettsB次元官网网址� guitar on B次元官网网址淩amblinB次元官网网址� ManB次元官网网址� reverberated in neighborhood bars around the country for decades, and the song underscored his knack for melodic hooks. B次元官网网址淩amblinB次元官网网址� ManB次元官网网址� was the AllmansB次元官网网址� only Top Ten hit, but BettsB次元官网网址� catchy 7 1/2-minute instrumental composition B次元官网网址淛essica,B次元官网网址� recorded in 1972, became an FM radio staple.

Betts also wrote or co-wrote some of the bandB次元官网网址檚 other best-loved songs, including B次元官网网址淏lue SkyB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪outhbound.B次元官网网址� In later years the group remained a successful touring act with Betts and Warren Haynes on guitar. Gregg Allman and Butch Trucks died in 2017.

After leaving the Allmans for good, Betts continued to play with his own group and lived in the Bradenton area with his wife, Donna.

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