Jeremy Clarkson has led tributes to BBC Top Gear legend Dickey Betts, who died on Thursday aged 80.
The musician was the singer and songwriter behind the song Jessica, which was used as the Top Gear theme song for the hit BBC series.
Dickey co-founded the Allman Brothers, known for their hit single Ramblin’ Man, as well as Jessica, and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
The guitarist passed away earlier this week. after living with cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) for more than a year.
And Jeremy took to Twitter himself to pay tribute to the singer, writing: ‘Dicky Betts is dead. You probably haven’t heard of it. But he wrote a song called Jessica. And you’ve DEFINITELY heard that.’
Jeremy Clarkson has led emotional tributes after BBC Top Gear legend Dickey Betts died on Thursday aged 80.
Dickey co-founded the Allman Brothers, known for their hit single Ramblin’ Man, as well as Jessica, and they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995.
The song’s riff was used in the opening credits of Top Gear since it first appeared on screens in 1977, and then again since the release of the reboot in 2002.
However, the hit was originally written for Dickey’s daughter. But the recognizable tune was actually written for Betts’ daughter, after whom the song is named.
After Jeremy refreshed his followers’ memories, tributes started pouring in and they also shared their condolences.
They wrote: ‘Rip Dicky Betts, you really were great’; ‘Iconic Melody’; ‘I Googled Jessica and like you said, we’ve all DEFINITELY heard it. It’s TopGear’s intro music.
‘An iconic theme. Up there with “La Cadena”, for F1.’; ‘RIP Dicky (to be honest, no, I haven’t heard of him)’; ‘Well, you certainly weren’t wrong. Turns out I had heard about it. I wonder how he felt about his song becoming such an iconic part of Top Gear.
‘Founding member of the Allman Brothers Band, sadly they are all gone. Iconic melody. RIP Dicky’.
Meanwhile, the former surviving members of The Allman Brothers Band also paid tribute to Dickey.
While all but one of the original band members have passed away, with the exception of Jai Johanny ‘Jaimoe’ Johanson, later members who joined the group over the years shared a heartfelt statement People.
The musician was the singer and songwriter behind the song Jessica, which was used as the Top Gear theme song for the hit BBC series.
Jeremy himself took to Twitter to pay tribute to the singer, writing: ‘Dicky Betts has died. You probably haven’t heard of it. But he wrote a song called Jessica. And you’ve DEFINITELY heard that’
After Jeremy refreshed his followers’ memories, tributes started pouring in and they also shared their condolences.
“It is with deep sadness that the Allman Brothers Band learned today that founding member Dickey Betts passed away peacefully at his home in Sarasota, Florida, following a period of declining health,” the Grammy winners shared in a press release sent to the publication.
They proceeded to highlight the impact Betts had on the band during his tenure from 1969 to 2000 with his songwriting and guitar playing.
“Dickey wrote quintessential Brothers songs, including Blue Sky, Rambling Man, Jessica, In Memory of Elizabeth Reed and many others,” the statement continued.
“His extraordinary guitar playing alongside guitarist Duane Allman created a unique dual guitar sound that became the signature sound of the genre known as Southern Rock.”
‘He was passionate about life, whether it was music, song writing, fishing, hunting, boating, golf, karate or boxing. Dickey was totally into and excelled at anything that caught his attention,” the surviving former members shared about the West Palm Beach, Florida native.
It is at this point in their tribute that they gave recognition to the founding members of The Allman Brothers Band, which formed in Jacksonville, Florida back in 1969, but would eventually be based in Macon, Georgia.
The surviving former members of The Allman Brothers Band shared a heartfelt statement about the band’s former founder, Dickey Betts, a day after his death at the age of 80.
Dickey, who wrote many of the band’s most recognizable songs as Ramblin’ Man, was with the band from its formation in 1969, through two breakups until he left the band in 2000; He is seen performing in the mid-1970s
‘Betts joins his brothers, Duane Allman, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks and Gregg Allman, as well as the ABB crew, members Twiggs Lyndon, Joe Dan Petty, Red Dog, Kim Payne and Mike Callahan in that old Winnebago in the sky that travels the world. bringing their music to everyone who wants to hear it,’ they added.
Surviving members include Chuck Leavell (keyboards), David Goldflies (bass), Warren Haynes (guitar), Johnny Neel (vocals), Marc Quiñones (percussion), Oteil Burbridge (bass), Derek Trucks (guitar), and Jimmy Herring ( guitar). .
ABB’s statement, attributed to ‘Allman Brothers Band, Family and Crew’, concluded: ‘Our deepest condolences to his immediate family Donna, Duane & Lisa, Christy & Frank, Jessica and Kim. Play on Brother Dickey, you will always be remembered and deeply missed.’
As a founding member, Dickey played with the band from its inception in 1969 until its departure in 2000, although there were a couple of breakups and reunions in the 1970s and 1980s.