Dickey Betts

When the Allman Brothers Band took founding member Dickey Betts out of the lineup this summer, the guitarist was furious and heartbroken. But he also wanted to go out and prove his playing is as good as ever. Over the phone from Fort Wayne, Ind., 56-year-old Betts said he had "no idea" what caused his ouster from the band after 30 years, although Gregg Allman has hinted it had to do with substance abuse and denial.

When the Allman Brothers Band took founding member Dickey Betts out of the lineup this summer, the guitarist was furious and heartbroken. But he also wanted to go out and prove his playing is as good as ever. Over the phone from Fort Wayne, Ind., 56-year-old Betts said he had "no idea" what caused his ouster from the band after 30 years, although Gregg Allman has hinted it had to do with substance abuse and denial.

For a few shining moments in the early-to-middle '70s, Dickey Betts was the American guitar hero, and never more deservedly so than when the light, lyrical twin-lead guitar lines of the Allman Brothers Band's instrumental "Jessica" were embedding themselves into the public rock consciousness. Betts was and is at his finest when he walks on the sunny side of the street with that original, upbeat and peculiarly Southern style of riffing.

For those who don't think the Allman Brothers Band without guitarist Dickey Betts would be worth seeing, drummer Jaimoe is offering a money-back guarantee. "I'm happily challenging anyone," says the drummer and founding member of the band. "A few people on the Internet said they weren't going to see a Betts-less Allman Brothers band, and they are entitled to their opinions," Jaimoe says by phone from Virginia Beach, Va.

At its peak, the Allman Brothers Band in many ways was the Grateful Dead with fire. Like Jerry Garcia and company, the Allmans--whose blend of country and blues strains defined Southern Rock in the late '60s and early '70s--frequently engaged in marathon jams on stage, sidestepping visual flash for sheer instrumental authority and grace as it wove an almost magical spell over the audience. But the band--which framed the superb guitar interaction of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts against one of rock's most accomplished rhythm sections--injected the music with an energy and tension that was more consistently involving than the Dead's.

For those who don't think the Allman Brothers Band without guitarist Dickey Betts would be worth seeing, drummer Jaimoe is offering a money-back guarantee. "I'm happily challenging anyone," says the drummer and founding member of the band. "A few people on the Internet said they weren't going to see a Betts-less Allman Brothers band, and they are entitled to their opinions," Jaimoe says by phone from Virginia Beach, Va.

The story of the Allman Brothers Band is marked by death and strife--the kinds of memories that many people would rather forget. But Dickey Betts says the past is seldom out of his mind. "Anytime I'm playing music or getting ready to record, Duane Allman will enter my thoughts, and so will Berry Oakley," Betts said. "It's part of my musical makeup and mental process when it comes to music. We learned to play together and taught each other a lot."

The rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of the Allman Brothers band is one of the tawdriest in rock-music history--real tabloid stuff. Among the seamy elements: drugs and alcohol excesses, deaths by motorcycle crashes, a turbulent breakup, a stormy Hollywood marriage and divorce, not one but two descents into obscurity, drug trials, a financial scandal, courtroom battles and constantly feuding members.

Two decades, two funerals and far more than seven twists and turns in the road separate the Allman Brothers from their peak. Yet two lingering qualities from the old days allow them to continue with dignity intact and rehash avoided. Those are Gregg Allman's way with a soulful blues vocal, and guitarist Dickey Betts' ability to shape an instrumental excursion into a work of dramatic architecture. Not a brilliant album, but one that's solid and welcome.

* R&B sensation Alicia Keys, right, plays the House of Blues in West Hollywood on Aug. 13. Tickets go on sale today .... Five other new shows at the House of Blues now on sale: Dickey Betts on Sept. 9; Megadeth on Sept. 16; the Young Dubliners on Oct. 6; Etta James on Oct. 12; and Hall & Oates on Oct. 17 .... Belle & Sebastian visit the Wiltern Theatre on Sept. 6. Tickets on sale now .... SWAG features members of the Mavericks, Wilco and Sixpence None the Richer. The group plays Sept.

The rags-to-riches-to-rags tale of the Allman Brothers band is one of the tawdriest in rock-music history--real tabloid stuff. Among the seamy elements: drugs and alcohol excesses, deaths by motorcycle crashes, a turbulent breakup, a stormy Hollywood marriage and divorce, not one but two descents into obscurity, drug trials, a financial scandal, courtroom battles and constantly feuding members.

At its peak, the Allman Brothers Band in many ways was the Grateful Dead with fire. Like Jerry Garcia and company, the Allmans--whose blend of country and blues strains defined Southern Rock in the late '60s and early '70s--frequently engaged in marathon jams on stage, sidestepping visual flash for sheer instrumental authority and grace as it wove an almost magical spell over the audience. But the band--which framed the superb guitar interaction of Duane Allman and Dickey Betts against one of rock's most accomplished rhythm sections--injected the music with an energy and tension that was more consistently involving than the Dead's.

The story of the Allman Brothers Band is marked by death and strife--the kinds of memories that many people would rather forget. But Dickey Betts says the past is seldom out of his mind. "Anytime I'm playing music or getting ready to record, Duane Allman will enter my thoughts, and so will Berry Oakley," Betts said. "It's part of my musical makeup and mental process when it comes to music. We learned to play together and taught each other a lot."

For a few shining moments in the early-to-middle '70s, Dickey Betts was the American guitar hero, and never more deservedly so than when the light, lyrical twin-lead guitar lines of the Allman Brothers Band's instrumental "Jessica" were embedding themselves into the public rock consciousness. Betts was and is at his finest when he walks on the sunny side of the street with that original, upbeat and peculiarly Southern style of riffing.

John Hughey, 73, a steel guitar player who toured for years with country legend Conway Twitty and recorded with Elvis Presley and many other stars, died Sunday at a hospital in Hendersonville, Tenn., his publicist said. The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville reported that he died of heart problems. Hughey was credited with developing a unique style of playing that focused on the instrument's high tones, resulting in a distinctive "crying sound." Born in 1935 in Elaine, Ark.

Last year around this time, the Allman Brothers Band reunion tour passed through town with a Greek Theatre show spunky enough to make even the most marginal fan wish it would stay reunited long enough to record a new album. It did. "Seven Turns" is the band's first record in nine years--with a leadoff song, "Good Clean Fun," that quickly made its way to the top of the album-rock radio airplay charts--and the group returned to a nearly-full Greek on Thursday in support of it.