Guitarist, singer and songwriter Dickey Betts was a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. He’s pictured on May 19, 2014, in Nashville, Tenn.
Rick Diamond/Getty Images for Webster PR
Dickey Betts, a founding member of the renowned rock group the Allman Brothers Band, died at at his home in Osprey, Fla. on Thursday. The influential guitarist, songwriter and vocalist had been battling two kinds of cancer as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). He was 80 years old.
“Dickey was larger than life, and his loss will be felt world-wide,” the statement said.
Betts’ blues, rock and country-influenced guitar style helped define Southern rock in the 1960s and ’70s.