{"id":190890,"date":"2025-09-01T05:37:09","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190890\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T05:37:09","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T05:37:09","slug":"southern-rock-legend-to-have-florida-u-s-41-named-for-him","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/190890\/","title":{"rendered":"Southern rock legend to have Florida U.S. 41 named for him"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Rock and Roll Hall of Famer with deep Florida roots may soon have a stretch of U.S. Highway 41 named after him \u2014 if the state approves.<\/p>\n

\"play\"<\/p>\n

Allman Brothers Band guitarist Dickey Betts dies at 80<\/p>\n

Dickey Betts, the guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band, dies at 80.<\/p>\n

A Southern rock legend with deep Florida roots will have a stretch of U.S. Highway 41 named after him<\/a> \u2014 if the state approves.<\/p>\n

Sarasota County commissioners are sending a request to the Florida Department of Transportation to rename part of U.S. 41 after Dickey Betts<\/a>, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who co-founded the Allman Brothers Band and wrote their biggest hit, \u201cRamblin\u2019 Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

The tribute would be especially fitting since Betts lived for decades near the highway he immortalized in song with his lyric: \u201cI was born in the back seat of a Greyhound bus rollin\u2019 down Highway 41.\u201d<\/p>\n

Betts, who died in April 2024 at age 80<\/a>, is widely regarded as one of Florida\u2019s greatest musical exports, blending rock, blues, and country into the sound of Southern rock while inspiring today\u2019s jam band scene.<\/p>\n

Finally! <\/strong>Sarasota to honor local hero, Allman Brothers Band legend Dickey Betts<\/a><\/p>\n

RIP: <\/strong>Dickey Betts, influential Allman Brothers Band singer and guitarist, dies at Sarasota home<\/a><\/p>\n

Interview: <\/strong>Dickey Betts on the real Allman Brothers Band stories behind the film \u2018Almost Famous\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

Ticket Newsletter: <\/strong>Sign up to receive restaurant news, reviews, and fun things to do every Friday<\/a><\/p>\n

Sarasota County pushes to rename portion of U.S. 41 after Dickey Betts<\/p>\n

As for which part of U.S. 41 might bear Betts\u2019 name, a Sarasota County spokesperson said that hasn\u2019t been decided. But it would seem likely the county would rename the stretch that runs through Osprey, right by the home where Betts lived for decades.<\/p>\n

Donna Betts, who married Dickey in 1989 and was by his side when he passed, still lives in the house. Dickey\u2019s son, Duane Betts \u2014 a Sarasota native and famous musician in his own right \u2014 has also been a frequent guest there over the years.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Duane hosted and curated the sold-out \u201cIn Memory of Dickey Betts\u201d all-star charity concert held Feb. 28 in Macon, Georgia<\/a>, where the Allman Brothers Band were based during the 1970s.<\/p>\n

In addition to performances by Warren Haynes, Derek Trucks, Susan Tedeschi and other jam band and roots rock luminaries \u2014 plus video tributes by Willie Nelson, Slash, Bob Weir, Steve Earle and Billy Bob Thornton \u2014 Donna Betts made a rare public appearance at the event, which raised funds to establish the Dickey Betts Memorial Endowed Scholarship at Berklee College of Music.<\/p>\n

The three-hour show ended with Duane leading a stage full of stars in a rousing performance of \u201cRamblin\u2019 Man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dickey Betts’ family has been in Sarasota-Manatee since the 1870s<\/p>\n

For the record, Betts was not born in the back of a bus, but he sure knew his way around that highway. When not touring, he lived right off U.S. Highway 41 in Sarasota County for years. Unlike other local celebrities, he had deep ties to the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, my family has been in Manatee County since like 1870, right after the Civil War,\u201d Betts told me during an interview at his Osprey home. \u201cWe homesteaded land in Myakka. All you had to do was put stakes down on the land and pay taxes on it and it was yours. In fact, they named the road Betts after us out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yep, drive around the area east of Bradenton and you\u2019ll find Betts Road. I next asked Betts how come I\u2019d read he was born in West Palm Beach.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy dad was a contractor and back in old Florida there would be a housing development going on here and that would play out and then there would be one over there and we had uncles, my dad\u2019s brothers, were over in West Palm, Belle Glade, so he would get a tip that there was some project, some housing development being built, so we\u2019d move back and forth,\u201d he said. \u201cSo I\u2019d go to three years of school over there and come back and go to three years over here.\u201d<\/p>\n

A gifted musician from a young age, Betts recalled that the \u201cfirst time I got in the newspaper I was 14 and we won a talent show at the Manatee County Fair. So that was my first kind of introduction to trying to get recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n

At 16, he left home to join the circus. Seriously. Betts got a gig playing the Teen Beat stage of the traveling circus World of Mirth. Several years and bands later, he became a founding member of the Allman Brothers.<\/p>\n

In addition to \u201cRamblin\u2019 Man,\u201d Betts wrote and sang such classics as \u201cBlue Sky,\u201d \u201cSeven Turns,\u201d and \u201cBack Where It All Begins.\u201d And then there are the instrumentals he composed \u2014 including the Top 40 hit \u201cJessica\u201d and \u201cIn Memory of Elizabeth Reed,\u201d a key track on the Allman Brothers\u2019 1971 live album masterpiece \u201cAt Fillmore East.\u201d<\/p>\n

Platinum and gold records adorn the Betts home in Sarasota County<\/p>\n

Platinum and gold records adorn the Betts home in Osprey. Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 61 on its original list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time. Betts is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has a pair of Grammy Awards.<\/p>\n

The Allman Brothers Band lineup that released the album Brothers and Sisters \u2014 which contains \u201cRamblin\u2019 Man\u201d and \u201cJessica\u201d \u2014 helped inspire Cameron Crowe\u2019s classic 2000 film Almost Famous and is the focus of acclaimed music author Alan Paul\u2019s 2023 book Brothers and Sisters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this new lineup, any combination of players could lock into grooves with one another at various times,\u201d Paul writes<\/a>, before further elaborating: \u201cBetts, an absolutely monster guitarist playing with confidence and creativity, stood atop this musical juggernaut.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wade Tatangelo<\/a>\u00a0is Ticket Editor for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida Regional Dining and Entertainment Editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on\u00a0Facebook<\/a>,\u00a0Instagram<\/a>, and\u00a0X<\/a>. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com.\u00a0Support local journalism by\u00a0subscribing<\/a>.<\/p>\n