Learn to Play Slide Guitar Like Dickey Betts.

Did you know Dickey Betts had some really cool slide guitar licks?  You may be thinking that only Duane played slide guitar.  Nope, not true.  After Duane’s untimely death, the Allman Brothers reformed and Dickey pulled out that slide on more than one occasion.

Dickey often played in Open E Tuning just like Duane, and I believe he also did Open G on occasion as well.  3 songs in particular come to mind when I think of Dickey Betts playing slide guitar.

Allman Brothers songs with Dickey on the slide guitar.

  1. Ain’t Wastin Time – One of my all-time favorites.  The guitar is beautiful, and is another example of the Mixolydian scale in action.  The lyrics are some of the best too.
  2. Crazy Love – Wow!  That’s some hot slide guitar, and it’s not Duane!  There’s just some really cool licks in this song, and I’m putting it on my must learn list.  You’ll be armed with some hot Open E Tuning licks after you’ve mastered this song.
  3. Pony Boy – Really cool to hear Dickey on the Dobro.  This Open E tuning riff has some excellent licks for the beginner slide guitar player or the advanced guitarist as well.

Check out Dickey on slide in this really old performance.

What do you think of Dickey’s slide playing?  Do you have any favorite songs by the legendary guitarist?

Want to learn more about Open E Tuning Slide? I’ve released a full course about how to play slide guitar in Open E Tuning. 

John W Tuggle
John W Tuggle

I love teaching the blues and have created numerous training courses and lessons to learn how to play like BB King, Clapton, Duane Allman, and more. Get Started Now

Related Posts

37 Comments

  1. cool video of Dickey playing the slide. I always liked his playing and thought he was ‘the forgotten one’ of the ABB.

  2. John: I’ve purchased all four of your slide guitar DVDs and they’ve helped me improve my playing tremendously. I’m very interested in getting the free Dickey Betts Video lesson and would like to improve my playing in both “standard” and “Open G” in the future.

    Regards,
    Dave

  3. Hey John,

    I always have enjoyed Dicky Betts’s guitar playing. His style is fliud and melodic. He combines blues with country real well. The sweet tone he gets from his Les Paul through through a Marshall is unigue and in my opinion his trademark which sets him a part from other players. Hence the importance of developing your own uniqoue voice and style.
    Excellent video of him playing slide on his Strat. Nice Old Delta Blues.

    Thanks,

    Paul

  4. Hey John

    This clip is great! Dicky is wailin on the Strat. He’s one of my favorites. I’ve purchased all the slide video’s and they have helped me improve so much. I’m looking forward to future video’s too! Thanks John!!

    Wayne

  5. Outstanding guitar player in every way! Like Duane once said about Dicky: “I’m the famous one but he’s the good one”! I think we can all agree they were both “the good ones”! Cool video!

  6. When “Eat a Peach” was released I eventually learned “Blue Skies” note for note. I listened to it so many times it became part of me. “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” on the “Live at Fillmore East” album helped me build on my minor blues licks. When I was working to learn Hendrix, Clapton and the Brothers, there weren’t any DVD players and albums were vinyl. So I’d put on a 33rpm record and slow it down to 16 rpm’s and listen over & over. Dicky is a world class guitarist because when you hear his guitar in any song, you recognize his signature licks. He is a pioneer for sure. John Tuggle is a pioneer teacher and natural at guitar.

  7. For much of my lifetime I’ve wanted to learn how to play in the traditional style of the Allman Bros. and now I’ve discovered the keys to doing so thanx to John. I jammed with my cousin who’s a very accomplished guitarist and he was highly impressed, and it was fun to impress him. What fun!

  9. I had a chance to see Dickey with the Allman Brothers in 1992. He is extremely impressive in person. At that time I only knew two members of the band, Dickey and Greg. So, I really paid attention to both. Blue Sky will always be one of my favorite songs. I don’t believe it’s in the Allman Brother’s rotation anymore, but it does have some killer slide licks.

  10. Great to see Mississippi Fred McDowell style of playing being carried on by contemporary artists. I eat, sleep and breathe the traditional acoustic stuff where the thumb holds down the bass, but thanks to John’s slide videos I’ve been able to get hold of electric slide playing too and add a great new dimension to my playing possibilities (see http://www.MySpace.com\Dave Diprose

  11. I grew up in Charleston, WV. I loved the Allman Brothers and wanted to learn slide guitar. There was no one in my hometown who played, so like any good 8th grade boy would do, I wrote a long rambling letter to Dickie Betts, care of Capricorn Records. I explained my dilemma. About three weeks later I received a letter with the Dickey Betts and Great Southern logo on the outside. (This was around the time the Allmans originally broke up.) Dickie had taken the time to read my letter and write a return answer to my multitude of questions. I was amazed that he took time out of a hectic schedule to help me in my quest to learn slide. His basic advice was that he tried to emulate harp players. I was so impressed by his kindness and empathy. His encouragement was a huge boost to me. His graciousness made a young kid in WV very happy.

  12. I am looking forward to your Blues master CD set I just ordered. I have been playing since the age of 7 and now that I am 8, just kidding I mean 50 years old. I need a step up on the old box and I think you have some excellent tools to offer.
    Talk to you soon John.
    Timo

    Oh yes Mr. Bets was one of the guitar slingers I looked up to as a young player. Simply amazing. Blue Sky’s, what a great song.

  13. I wish I could make the guitar sing like that! I’m a huge fan of southern rock and Almond Bros. Your website is great John and the materials you have for free download and for sale are good quality. Keep up the great work.

  14. duane has always been my favorite,but dickie played some great stuf over the years,,dickie,s ponyboy is classic stuff,,jessica is not slide but my fave,abb and dickie betts tune…rock on dickie,,

  15. Here’s a bit of interesting history for you fellas;
    That strat, I believe is a 57 tobacco burst. Anyways. A buddy of mine here in town almost owned that because his neighbor who owned it from the original purchase passed away. My friend is an avid guitar collector, but never knew of this strat next door over the years he assumes because the guy knew if he told of it, it would surely be sold. In the end; He wanted it passed on to his son or grandson. But… When the son came to town to handle his dads affairs, he already had plans of selling it for whatever reason. He wanted $20,000 but wasn’t getting many offers. He ended up after a month of no luck selling it to “Willies Guitars” up in St. Paul, Minnesota for an undisclosed amount. Within a week, Dickey walks in picks it up, plays it for about 45 minutes, and wrote a check for $10,000. They were asking $12,000 is what I was told. Anyways, when Dickey has been back in Iowa (usually at the surf ballroom) he has always had that strat with him. I’m sure someday if Dickey doesn’t pass it on to Duane, it’ll get at least $20 grand… It’s a great piece! Thought y’all might enjoy that. Merry Christmas y’all!!!!

  16. It was good to see you mention how Dickey picked up for Duane.
    I saw the Allman Brothers on their first tour after Duane’s death. It was before they had another guitar player.
    Dickey did a good job trying to play both parts. Not an easy task!

  17. to think that all those
    strats ,sg,s les pauls where so cheap back in the 60,s,,i picked up a 56 strat in a pond shop in 71″ for 300.00,mint and sold in 74″ for 475.00,,,,oops ,,,hey guy,s,gotta mention warren haines who in my opinion took duanes style and sound to another level..awsome stuff,,i read an article in vintage guitar about duanes goldtop,the one used on layla?,any one have any info on it or his other guitars?,,

  18. Some great stories and comments here. I personally have always thought Dickey had some killer licks. He’s definitely one of my favorite guitarists. His use of the major scale blended nicely with Duane’s more minor sound.

    I played along to Dickey’s solos when I was a kid for years.

    Two of my favorite solos of his was the live Elizabeth Reed from the Fillmore, and Jessica of course.

    Thanks for all the comments and Happy Holidays!

  21. I recently purchased the 4 DVD set of slide guitar in Open E. This video of Dickey Betts gives me a great example of combining slide and rhythm. I have been playing in Open G and this is my first attempt to work in Open E.

  22. One of the all time greats. No one today, except those of us that saw the original band live, really knows how much of those great Allman Bros. guitar parts came from Dickey Betts.

  23. I see that you have put the tune Pony Boy in you list of songs Do you have any idea were to go for some help with that tune.

    Thanks

  24. Awesome,I didn’t know he could do that.But I’m not surprised.But by the time I get all the way through that Slide Guitar Method 4,I’ll be doing that too. Thanks for your courses John

  26. @ Dan Pony Boy is in Open E tuning. I think I’m going to make a video on how to play that song soon. You’ll need to incorporate a rhythm aspect when playing the main riff. Stomping your foot will help give you that rhythm.

    Thanks and Merry Christmas!

  27. Dickey Betts is such so smoothe on guitar and makes it look effortless. He seems just as talented as the late Duane Allman.

    Hey John, what is a good moderately priced electric guitar for playing southern rock and blues guitar?

  29. @Doug H That’s a really cool article, thanks. I budget guitar playing that style would be a used Fender strat American Standard, Gibson SG Faded, PRS SE.

    Thanks for the comments.

  30. They’re ok.

    The pickups are not very good. Very bright and thin.
    If you’re a beginner, they’re awesome, but if you’re looking for a quality guitar I would look elsewhere.

    With the MIM strat’s and tele’s, some of them are good and some aren’t. You would need to try it out first. I’ve played tons of MIM Fenders that were horrible, but every now and then there’s one that’s decent. You’ll then need to replace the pickups with something else though.

    This is only if you’re trying to get a very good tone. I can play a MIM guitar and sound good, but I’m limited because it simply won’t produce the sound I hear in my head.

    Hope that helps.

  32. That would be great! Those are really nice for the price. If you can get it at a good deal I would definitely pick it up.

  34. Dickey Betts is as good as Duane Allman was and Rolling stone magazine should have at least put him up there with jimi and Duane as the best guitar players of all time He is definately shortechanged on his prowess as a songwriter and guitar player Kudos to Dickey He is the best guitar player of all time period.Marvin Hamby Joplin Mo.

    • I agree. His is often overlooked for his guitar skills and songwriting prowess. He is one of my biggest influences. Thanks for the comment!

Comments are closed.