"Blue Sky"

Dickey Betts, 1974

Back when I started this project, the acoustic part for "Blue Sky" was the first thing I recorded. It took me a while to get to it, but I'm glad I waited (more on why later). Dickey Betts is pretty much my biggest influence as a guitarist (unless I'm playing slide). The man has the sweetest tone, I don't think there is a guitar player with a better sense of melody. I'm surprised it has taken me as long as it has to get to a Dickey Betts-penned tune, but perhaps that is due to the immense respect I have for his material. It's a lot to tackle.

"Blue Sky" is pure ear candy. It is one of the first Allman Brothers tunes to grab me. The original was set in the key of E, which really brought out its sweetness. Eventually Dickey would move the tune to G to make the song more easy to sing. With "Blue Sky" being such a signature tune for him, The Allmans took a 4 year break from playing "Blue Sky" after they parted ways with Dickey in 2000. He would continue to play the song in his own band, Great Southern, but it wasn't until the Allman Brothers were asked to recreate Eat A Peach live in the studio in 2004 that they resurrected the song themselves. It was controversial with fans at the time, many having sided with "mom" or "dad" in the beef that has largely endured to this day. Upon revisiting "Blue Sky", the Allman Brothers returned the song to its original key of E. The E>A progression is similar to another song from the last record side of Eat A Peach that the Allman Brothers rarely played until 2004, Duane Allman's "Little Martha". The two songs would be combined as an instrumental homage to its founding guitarists on rare occasions beginning with 2009's Beacon run.

Eat A Peach gatefold artwork by Flournoy Holmes

I always preferred hearing and playing "Blue Sky" in the key of E. It just belongs there to my ear. It is true, however, it is incredibly hard to sing in the key. I went low instead of high, but the lyrics aren't really the focal point to this song. I wanted to do 2 solos, but only 1 as a slide solo. That meant I would have to decide what instrument the 2nd solo would be on - tricone? Mandolin? Acoustic guitar?

It just so happened that I received my Daddy Mojo Cigar Box Biscuit Resonator around the same time. It has a longer neck, so I was able to push the solo past the 12th fret. The guitar also happens to echo Dickey's own tone on Les Paul - sweet, resonant, but with a plucky bite. I will write more about the Daddy Mojo guitar, but for now here is "Blue Sky".