Duane Betts Salutes His Father Dickey (with Some Help from Derek Trucks) on Soulful New Song, Stare At The Sun

Duane Betts – the son of Allman Brothers Band legend Dickey Betts, and a talented electric guitar player in his own right – is set to release his first solo album, Wild & Precious Life, this summer.

Now, the guitarist has released its second single, an ode to his father – and his guitar playing – titled “Stare At The Sun.” 

For the tune, Betts – who, among a number of other groups, has played in his father's backing band and with Gregg Allman's son Devon in the Allman Betts Band – enlisted the help of someone else who knows a thing or two about Dickey Betts and the Allman Brothers Band, Derek Trucks.

You can hear the guitarists' collaboration below.

“I was inspired by a conversation I’d had with Derek,” Betts said of the song's origins. “He was talking about my father’s guitar playing and he told me, ‘Your dad is one of those players who’s not afraid to stare directly into the sun,’ and I loved that line. I was already working on a new song, and Derek’s sentiment gave the song a center.”

Though vital and modern, “Stare At The Sun” will have a warm familiarity to any Allman Brothers fan – the sweetly melodic twin guitar leads, Trucks' lyrical slides, and even the track's soulful organ work recall the Southern rock pioneers at their best, but never to the point of outright copying the band. 

Wild & Precious Life, incidentally, was also recorded at Swamp Raga studio, which is owned by Trucks and his wife and Tedeschi Trucks Band partner-in-crime, Susan Tedeschi. The album also features Marcus King, and is set for a July 14 release via The Royal Potato Family.

To preorder the album, step right this way.