“In Their Own Words” Jeff Prine By SFL Music May 1, 2024 South Florida Concert Memories IN THEIR OWN WORDS We reached out to dozens of South Florida music personalities and industry veterans for their favorite South Florida concert memory. Stay tuned each month for many exciting stories! Want to share yours? E-Mail us at info@SFLMusic.com My last concert memory of Dickey Betts and Great Southern was in 2011 at Revolution Live in Ft. Lauderdale. My wife and I attended the show and was looking forward to hearing Dickey’s new lineup which included his son Duane. Dickey was certainly in fine form, when he stepped up to the mic with his Gold Top Les Paul, the crowd was treated to the guitarist and songwriter that contributed to making The Allman Brothers an American music icon. His voice and guitar thrilled the crowd and every song ended with a standing ovation. Three encores and we were still there asking for more. A funny story on the way in. I had just finished my record “Currents”. I brought a few copies with me hoping to get them to Dickey and the band to say thanks for his inspiration. As my wife and I passed the tour bus, a young man stepped off the bus and I ask if he would get them to Dickey. The following day, I received a call from Dickey’s road manager saying, “We are all listening to the cd and Dickey wants to know Who’s the guy that stole all my licks”. Dickey invited me to sit in with the band the next time they were in town. I do have another I would like to share. It was the summer of 1979 at TRAXX on 72nd Street in Manhattan. We got word that Dickey Betts and Great Southern would be appearing. My friend Bob and I made a beeline to New York and arrived early. Because of our relationship with the venue, we were allowed early access. Some of the members were mulling around after the sound check and we got to meet Dan Toler and his brother Frank. We talked and Dan asked if I would be interested in sitting in for the last set. I was thrilled to be on the same stage with one of my music heroes! As we watched the show, the original cast of SNL came in, John Belushi took the stage and sang “Hey Bartender”. The rest of the evening, the band was on fire and suddenly I heard my name called to join the band on stage. Dan Toler handed me his guitar and I realized due to his large build, the guitar hung much lower that I was comfortable with. Dickey counted off a shuffle and away we went, while I was still trying to adjust the strap. At this time, Dickey looked over at me and said, “take it”. So now, I was holding and playing the guitar at the same time. All the while I was thinking, my chance to play with one of my heroes, and I’m blowing it. In the end, Dickey gave me a big shout out to the audience and couldn’t have been nicer. I left the stage feeling, “I finally got to play with Dickey Betts”. Our paths crossed again in 1990 while the Allman Brother Band was recording the Seven Turns LP at Criteria Studios in Miami. Dickey asked me if I was familiar with the Sawgrass area in west Ft. Lauderdale. The band wanted a photo for the record artwork. I had just purchased a home out that way but wasn’t completely familiar yet. Eventually they did head out that way and found a place for Kirk West to shoot the photo that appears on the album cover. Dickey was a one of a kind that comes along every once in a while. I was happy to get to be in his company the few times our paths crossed. His inspiration is endless. by Jeff Prine | jeffprinegroup.com Share It!
