Allman Brothers Band - Dickey Betts

 

Music is a serious business - the artist gets trampled by promoters, labels, distributors, collaborators, venues, managers, lawyers, contracts, producers, sound engineers and a lot of palms have gotta be greased. To attain a level of success you have to be mightily determined. The road in and of itself is relentless, the press and life style will shave decades of your life and the fans can become a serious problem.

There is a flip side in and of itself but the rivers to cross to get to those moments of magic and creation where the music takes you "Back Where It All Begins" are treacherous.

Of all the pictures out there I have seen of Richard this one speaks to me loudly and encapsulates the man most completely. He was as serious as a heart attack when it came to his craft, and music. And we the listeners are the better for it because of his tenacity, virtuosity and spirit.

Live on Brother in the heavens now bathed in light melody and soul. Thank you! Your music lifted our spirits and stomped our feet. It was an honor to play your music over the air. It was a helluva lot of fun going to your shows.

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"Back Where It All Begins"

Songwriter: Dickey Betts / Forest Richard Betts

Say you want to be a rolling stone

Get your sail out in the wind

Get out on the highway and let 'er roll on Roll on back to someplace you ain't never been Hey, hey

When I was younger I was hard to hold

Seem like I was always goin'

Which ever way the wind would blow

Now that travelin' spirit calls me again

Callin' me back to where it all begins

Moon rise and sun go down

Turn my whole world around

Little star up in the sky

Tell my sweet baby please don't cry

Please don't cry

[SOLO]

Moon rise and sun go down

Turn my whole world around

Little star up in the sky

Tell my sweet baby please don't cry

Please don't cry

Travel out across the burnin' sand

Cross the ocean to some distant land

We'll reach the end we'll all be singin'

and we'll all be friends

Back where it all begins

Back where it all begins

Brothers and Sisters Review - Alan Paul

 

Just a quick shout out on Alan’s Book “Brothers and Sisters.” It’s a quick three hundred page tight compact read. Meaning every line is filled with information, quotes, history, stories, names it’s just over brimming with information and as a fan and/or history buff you will devour it with ease.

While the original six coalesced into a musical ecstasy of infinite cascading thunder and bliss that deserves every second of your indulgence and passion. The Brothers and Sisters branch bloomed in a profound way from that mighty tree of music. Give me more Chuck Leavell and Lamar Williams any day of the week. If it’s in the vaults somewhere it deserves to be shared with the music lovers. Until then have fun devouring the pages of the inside story of the album that defined the ’70s. I know I did then and now.

 Alan Paul

Allman Brothers Band

 Kirk West

 

Allman Brothers Band - Brothers and Sisters

Brothers and Sisters has taken up residence in my player. Bill put together a beautiful "Super Deluxe Edition" and Scott wrote a beautiful essay with Kirk and many others including EJ contributing. There is a ton of music.

And so now the band's sound has changed. Of course it has how could it not? You cannot take the human element away from the creation and not have that creation change in a profound way. No gear or person can substitute step in for another and have it be the same. It’s a physical impossibility. It doesn't matter if you have the licks down, it doesn't matter if you have the gear, it doesn't matter if you have the throat. The human factor, the heart, the hands, the journey, the affinity for the music, the vibe, the understanding, the knowledge, the study, the dedication, the humility, the ego, the upbringing all speak to the particular individual the intent, the focus, the clarity it’s all a part of the mix. Remove something as dynamic as one human individual and it changes. It's in the blood.

The beauty of the ABB is that they knew this quite clearly as Duane and Berry were their own men. And so they forged ahead without their brothers and created a new version of themselves as a band, a group, but more than that they stayed on the mission to stay as pure to the music as they could. They were still listening to each other both on and off stage.

Time doesn't stand still it morphs and changes as we do as well. Along the way it informs us as we mold the clay that is ourselves with our decisions, intentions, actions, thoughts, words and deeds. That is who we are and that is what comes out after we plug in. It sounds like you because it is you and you are who you are and what it is, what it becomes depends on those very factors, those points, that DNA that road you traveled and no one else has – hopefully it’s a good one and you are the hero of your own story. The guy on the left sure as hell was.