FreeForAll Friday features a Guest Hemingway riffing on the passing of a guitar legend. That’d be my son Kelly writing about Dickey Betts, who left the earthly confines Thursday at 80. If you’re here gratis and would like to read more, paid subscribers can join the Morning Mob for $8/month or $80/year, which gets you 4-5 TMLs every week. Enjoy.
Dickey Betts 1943-2024 (Getty Images)
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“Early morning sunshine tells me all I need to know.’’
Once a year, I listen to the record “Highway Call” by southern rock legend and Allman Brothers Band alum Richard “Dickey” Betts. Most of you are very familiar with the time and place of this ritualistic run through the album’s six tracks, as it has been well documented over the years in this space.
Dad and I have an understanding that the album cannot begin until it is paired with the twists and turns of the Blue Ridge Parkway. So sacred is this record that I steadfastly refuse to listen to it at any other point in the year. It just wouldn’t sound the same outside of that car at that time in that place.
“Long Time Gone” is the opener, and those first few chords put me in a beautiful, familiar place where things don’t change, a place where I am grateful for another year in the mountains with my dad. Not many records allow me to both tap into memories and be entirely present in the moment.
When I hear those opening chords, I think about all the previous years I’ve heard them on that very road, while being immensely grateful that I am hearing them again, taking care to appreciate how fortunate I am to be in this place and not to fall into the melancholic nostalgia that is my birthright. Music touches me in a way that no book, painting, or film ever could approach. It is a language unto itself, deeply personal yet communal. I love the record because I love the music, but beyond that it is the experience of listening to “Highway Call” with my dad that makes it so special.
Dickey Betts died Thursday at the age of 80. It is not often that celebrity deaths get to me, but this one did. I am an intermediate (at best) guitar player, and save one Trey Anastasio, there is nobody who has had more influence on how I approach playing guitar than Dickey. Not that I am trying to replicate the “Blue Sky” solo, I can’t even dream of attaining that level of grace on the guitar.
But in the way he structured his songs, the way he would play solos, sounding less like Santana and more like, say, Doc Watson picking on a country tune, jumping from one single note to another rather than sustaining one note for 20 seconds. Dickey’s playing rarely jumped out at you the way his counterpart, Duane Allman’s, would. But it’s the simplicity that I love.
There comes a point in every guitar player’s life where they know all the basics, they can play all the majors and minors and sevens and string them together without any trouble. But what separates the weekend warriors like myself from the truly great players is the great players have a voice.
They take what they’ve learned and they make it their own, so much so that you could hear a 2-second snippet of a song and know who is playing guitar. Hendrix had that instantly recognizable sound. Ditto Jimmy Page, Chuck Berry, Jerry Garcia. And Dickey Betts.
Dickey was a Gibson Les Paul guy. I had an all-black Les Paul for a short time and never grew to love it. It felt heavy and the humbuckers were a little too hot for me. The Les Paul was originally developed to be a country-western style guitar, but took a full rock n’ roll turn in the 60s when Eric Clapton, then with Cream, decided to plug one into a Marshall amp and turn the tone knob on the bridge pickup all the way down, thereby creating “the woman tone” we hear on “Strange Brew” and “Sunshine of your Love,” a muffled, fuzzy mix of new and old.
Kelly, in 2016
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Jimmy Page took the Les Paul to new heights on Led Zeppelin II (he played a Telecaster on Led Zeppelin I), helping to usher in a new era of blues guitar that could fill a stadium. But when Dickey strapped on the Les Paul, there was no distortion, no wah pedal, rarely any overdrive, just pure clean tones. He brought the Les Paul back to its roots and if anything, he added a jazz element to the tone with rounded, warm notes. That was his sound, instantly recognizable.
I have always been a music guy. When I was younger, if I got in trouble at school my parents wouldn’t ground me, they wouldn’t say “no TV or video games.” They knew how to get me where it hurt: they took the plug out of the back of my boombox.
Back in those days, if I couldn’t be in my space listening to my music, I didn’t know who I was. Not much has changed in that regard. When I started playing guitar, I wanted nothing more than to emulate my guitar heroes. I quickly learned this was not possible and instead, tried to find my own sound.
Fast forward about 20 years and I am still working on it. But that is what I love about playing guitar, there is no logical end point, it just keeps going as long as you want it to.
When I go back to the spare room in my apartment and plug in my cherry red Epiphone SG, it’s just me and the guitar. No plans, no expectations, no destination. Most days I pick it up without a clue as to what I am going to play, I’ll just run through some chords until something sounds good.
Some days I start to play and it just isn’t there, and I accept that because I know tomorrow will be another journey with no end in sight.
The Trip
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In about 2 weeks time, I will have a brand new Fender Telecaster, something I have wanted for at least a decade but never had the resources to purchase or the guitar chops to earn. Being able to purchase this guitar means more to me than simply having the money to do so, it's something I worked my way up to through countless off-brand, cheaply made guitars.
The guitar won’t make the player, you could give Hendrix a Fisher Price “My First Guitar” and he could still play “Voodoo Chile” and make it sound great. And you could give me a 1962 Stratocaster plugged into a Marshall stack and I will never be mistaken for Jimi.
But giving me a Telecaster 10 years ago would be like calling up a starting pitcher who never played in Triple-A, I just wasn’t ready for it. And when I get the Telecaster, there will be no sense of “I’ve made it, I’ve done it,” it will only be the next vehicle for continuing the journey.
My relationship with the guitar is like my relationships with the people in my life. Sometimes, everything is working and it seems easy. Other times, you just can’t find the right notes to play. But ultimately, I am just happy it is a part of my life.
Tonight, I will listen to “Live at Fillmore East” on the subway train, traveling under the very same hallowed ground that spawned that timeless record. Then when I get home, I will pick up the guitar and do my best to pay private tribute to Dickey. Maybe I will start in A-minor, one for Les Brers.
AND NOW. . . Hey Michelle! organizes your weekend
Ault Vine Fine Wines ~ Friday 6-10 at Ault Park sip your way through bottles from the Wine Merchant, enjoy lite bites and music by Jeff Henry $40 proceeds benefit Ault Park Advisory Board.
City Flea at Factory 52 ~ Saturday shop around and enjoy all that Factory 52 has...shops, tons of great food, bar, breweries, pickleball and more
Mimosas for Memories ~ Saturday 11-2 at The Cincinnati Club join in a beautiful brunch, silent auction and fun while supporting Giving Voice Foundation. They make connections through advocacy and programming for older adults with Alzheimer’s
Spyro Gyra ~ Oh throw me back and make me happy with this fun group from my past.. Ludlow Garage Saturday
Reds are back ~ taking on the Los Angeles Angels Friday (fireworks) thru Sunday and the Phillies Monday though a day game Thursday
Earth Day is Saturday~ and 420 day (if you know what that is :) There are celebrations all over town:
*Memorial Park in Oxford 10-4
* Smale Park 11-5 Nature education, belly dance classes, goat yoga and more,
*Winton Woods 9am clean up and enjoy giveaways, food trucks, games and more
Kings Island Opens ~ Saturday 10-9 closed Sunday and then will open on weekends
Disney’s Finding Nemo Jr. ~ The Children’s Theater presents this adorable show and it shouldn’t be missed. Take the whole family and be entertained by this talented crew of under water creatures.
Findlay Kitchen Tasting Event ~ Sunday 10-4 try unique dishes from dozens of Findlay members and alum. Sample up to 18 different cuisines.
Michelle Dorward Jones
HeyMichelle1 on Insta follow along
Promoting restaurants, bars and all things fun in Cincinnati & travel
IMBIBER DAVE rediscovers the wonders of the Bourbon Trail
Heaven on earth today. Had the absolute pleasure of hosting some of my colleagues as we walked across the bourbon trail.
When I visited this trail the first time in the 90s there were six distilleries on the map. Today there are 51, which doesn’t even include places like Buffalo Trace that have always chosen not to join the official group.
We had our eyes set on some of the lesser-known micro distilleries, and these fine folks did not disappoint. Jeptha Creed has an amazing tasting room, and even better indoor outdoor patio complete with a fantastic music venue, which I definitely want to see a live show at some day. They had one of the most unique corn mash bills I’ve ever tasted in their 90 proof, definitely worth a try.
Next was Whiskey Thief, which was spectacular. Situated in a field well off the road, this distillery plus food truck should be on everyone’s list. They allow you to taste everything straight from the barrel, and had five selections on the rotation for our tasting. Then, you can “thief” your whiskey from the barrel if you like it, and they seal a bottle on site for you.
The current website says you need 6+ days to hit all the spots, but if you spend hours at each a lot like we did, you would need at least a month.
Cheers!
cincybeerguydave@gmail.com
TUNE O’ THE DAY. Who else? I could spin the obvious. Blue Sky is not only Dickey’s greatest tune, but it is Dad’s favorite tune ever, his #1 Desert Island song.
Let’s do a different tune, one far less known, off the Win, Lose or Draw album. RIP, Richard Betts.
great piece Kelly. I always enjoy your writing. Lovely tribute, thanks
Very nice, Kelly. Very nice.