The Allman Brothers Band’s Dickey Betts to Receive Namesake Stretch of U.S. Route 41 in Native Florida
1991 Kirk West Photography
Allman Brothers Band’s co-founder, the late “Ramblin’ Man” Dickey Betts, will be honored in his home state of Florida with a namesake stretch of memorial highway on U.S. Route 41, located in Sarasota County.
The decision came on Wednesday, February 25, when the Florida House passed a bill designating a section of a major road as the “Dickey Betts Memorial Highway.” Notably, the memorial asphalt extends from the North Creek neighborhood, near Jacksonville, Fla., to Blackburn Point Rd., which borders Osprey, Fla.
Betts was born in West Palm Beach, Fla., in 1943, though raised on the other side of the state in Bradenton. Before his time in the Allman Brothers Band, the guitarist and vocalist formed the Second Coming with Berry Oakley while living in the Sunshine State.
The Allman Brothers Band spent their formative years in Georgia, but eventually Betts returned home, taking residence in Osprey. Betts’ musical legacy is associated with the band’s biggest hit “Ramblin’ Man,” and instrumental centerpieces like “Jessica” and “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed.”
Betts passed away on April 18, 2024, at age 80.
