As a descendent of Florida homesteaders, Richard “Dickey” Betts spent his youth playing old-time music, including Irish folk tunes and bluegrass. Betts brought that upbringing, combined with his love of Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers, to the Allman Brothers Band.
Deferring to Duane Allman’s leadership in the early going, Betts slowly emerged as one of the band’s creative forces, culminating in the triumphant “Blue Sky” that featured Allman and Betts trading licks over a rolling, country-styled musical landscape. It was one of the last songs the band recorded before Duane Allman’s death, leaving fans wondering what could have been.
In the wake of that tragedy, Betts became the sole guitar player in a band defined by its two-guitar attack. Something had to give. On the next record, Betts led the band in his country direction, giving them their biggest hit (“Ramblin’ Man”) but also upsetting a creative balance with the more blues-leaning Gregg Allman. This led to both men pursuing solo projects.
Highway Call, Betts’ exuberant solo debut, caps his emergence as a unique and vibrant country-rock stylist. Recruiting fiddler Vassar Clements, then-Allmans keyboard player chuck Leavell, and pedal steel great John Hughey as his counterpoints, Betts conjured a rollicking brew of bluegrass, western swing, and jazz.
Hughey and Betts duel it out on the leadoff track, “Long Time Gone”, to great effect. Meanwhile, Leavell plays some of his most gorgeous melodies ever on the title track. Clements shines on the record’s all-instrumental second side, providing a basis for the “Hillbilly Jazz” experiments that would soon follow.