This episode of Destinations is being shared by PodWheels to pay tribute to Dickey Betts, a founding member of the Allman Brothers Band. It’s been almost six months since Betts’ passing at the age of 80 in mid-April. Earlier this year, PodWheels Executive Producer Greg Thompson revisited his personal archives and the 1983 interview he had set up with Betts and Chuck Leavell, the one-time keyboard player for the Allman Brothers who has also been a part of the Rolling Stone for 42 years and counting. Thompson was in Minnesota at the time of Betts’ passing and he was able to connect with Al Neff, the Program Director for WXYG, The Goat, which is an album rock radio station located in Central Minnesota. Thompson and Neff, along with Danny Berg, had been part of the 1983 interview with Betts and Leavell when they were students at St. Cloud State University and part of the staff at KVSC-FM.

In this edition of Destinations from PodWheels, we will share the 1983 interviews with Chuck Leavell and Dickey Betts. At the time of the interview recordings, they were a part of the short-lived, but great band, BHLT & Friends, which featured Dickey Betts, Jimmy Hall, Chuck Leavell and Butch Trucks. You will also hear the behind-the-scenes story of how Thompson had developed a successful approach for landing interviews with musical acts by contacting their management companies through long-distance calls made from his dorm room at St. Cloud State. Above all, we hope you will enjoy this trip back to 1983 that offers a moment in time featuring two consequential musical artists with the main spotlight paying tribute to one of the greatest guitarists of all time.

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