Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks

Last updated
Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks
Genres Southern rock
Years active1982–1984
Past members

Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks, often referred to as BHLT, was an American musical group that existed from 1982 to 1984 and that featured former members of The Allman Brothers Band and Wet Willie. Despite a positive reception for their live performances, the group never got a recording contract.

Contents

Origins

The Allman Brothers Band, founded in 1969, had survived the death of its leader, Duane Allman, to hit a commercial peak with Capricorn Records in the mid-1970s; [1] but neither surviving brother Gregg Allman nor increasingly prominent guitarist Dickey Betts had the same leadership qualities, [2] and the group dissolved in acrimony in 1976. [3] They had reunited again in 1979, with a somewhat different line-up; but by the late 1970s and early 1980s, Southern rock as a genre was out of fashion, with first disco and then other forms of popular music becoming ascendent. [4] Capricorn had gone bankrupt, [1] and the Allman Brothers Band was by then under contract to Arista Records; the label and its head, Clive Davis, had been intent on getting the group to play in a more modern style which would produce hit singles. [4] [2] The resulting music had both displeased the group and failed to produce any substantial hits, and the group broke up again during early 1982. [2]

Wet Willie was another Capricorn Records group lumped under the Southern rock umbrella, but more soul- and R&B-flavored than most other artists in that genre. [5] They also had more of a bar band approach and feel. [1] Wet Willie had had a hit single in 1974 with "Keep On Smilin'" but otherwise failed to find consistent commercial success; a switch to Epic Records in the late 1970s failed to change that situation and by 1980 they had disbanded. [5] Subsequently their lead singer Jimmy Hall embarked on a solo career with Epic, releasing an album in 1980 [5] and another, Cadillac Tracks, in 1982. [6]

John Scher was a concert promoter in the northeastern United States who had managed the Allman Brothers during the 1981–82 period. [2] Together with his assistant Bert Holman, he managed a new project, [7] one that was being pulled together by Betts. [3] [8]

The two front men of the new group were Allmans guitarist and vocalist Betts and Wet Willie lead vocalist, saxophonist, and harmonica player Hall. The other two prominent members were Chuck Leavell, who had joined the Allman Brothers in 1972 and whose piano playing was a key in the group's mid-1970s commercial success, and Butch Trucks, a founding member of the Allman Brothers and one of that group's two drummers. There had been previous discussions about bringing Leavell back into the Allman Brothers Band, but due to business issues Gregg Allman was intent on not working with Leavell again. [2] However, Leavell, who had just come off performing with The Rolling Stones on their European Tour 1982, [9] had reconciled with Betts and other members of the Allmans. [3] Rounding out the group were bassist David "Rook" Goldflies, who had been in the Allman Brothers' 1979–82 reunited lineup, [10] and violinist Danny Parks. [3] The little-known Parks was a young guitar and fiddle player from Wisconsin who was beginning to make a name for himself in the Upper Midwest when Betts and Trucks happened to notice him while in Chicago. [8] Desiring a violin player, Betts recruited him to play in the new group, although he would play some guitar in it as well. [8]

On the road

The name Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks was adopted, either because they could not think of something different [11] or because of legal complications in choosing anything else. [3] Some early press reports described them as a band without a name. [12] The group's rehearsal space was in Sarasota, Florida, [9] in warehouses that belonged to the Allman Brothers organization. [8]

The group's first concert was held in Fort Worth, Texas on December 2, 1982. [11] Once on the road, they played in venues such as the Agora Ballroom in Atlanta [3] and the Wax Museum nightclub in Washington, D.C. [12] Other early club appearances included at the Brandywine in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, and The Bottom Line in New York City. [13] The group appeared at Volunteer Jam IX in Nashville in January 1983. [3]

In some cases Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks was an opening act, such as for The Marshall Tucker Band in March 1983 at Concord College in West Virginia, [11] and in May 1983, when they played the Capitol Theatre in Passaic, New Jersey, opening for Johnny Winter. [14] Several times, the group's activity had to halt due to Leavell's absence to go to Paris to play keyboards on sessions for The Rolling Stones for their Undercover album. [9] [15] (Leavell would go on to play with the Stones for decades to come, serving as their de facto musical director during tours. [11] )

The name was something of an open question. Hall conceded that in the long form, what they were using sounded like the name of a law firm, and in the acronym form, sounded like the popular lunch item. [15] Indeed, within the group, members jokingly referred to themselves as the "Sandwich Band". [11] A writer for a Macon, Georgia newspaper said that they were "probably ... the hottest band in the nation without a name." [9] In October 1983, a year after the group's beginning, a writer for The Tennessean was referring to it as a "still-unnamed ... aggregation". [16] There was some feeling within the group that they would settle on a name once they got a recording contract. [15]

The music of Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks was varied. During the times that the Allman Brothers had been inactive or broken up, Betts had explored several different genres, including country, Western swing, and blues. [4] BHLT explored all of these too, as well as R&B and rock and Southern boogie. [4] [11] The instrumental focus tended to be on the front-line players on guitar, saxophone, and violin; Leavell played piano solos but his main role was to tie into the rhythm section while anchoring the harmonic progressions underneath the other soloists. [9]

The group's concert appearances featured some new material, including the shared-vocals song "Whole Lot Of Memories", the Betts-led "Pick a Little Boogie", and the Hall-led songs "Need Somebody Bad" and "Stop Knockin' On My Door". [11] There were also some prior Betts solo songs, such as "Nothing You Can Do" from Dickey Betts & Great Southern (1977) and "Rain" from Highway Call (1974), the latter of which was rearranged and sung by Leavell. [11] Hall led an extended performance of "Cadillac Tracks", the title song from his just-out solo album, [11] and also sang the lead on "One Track Mind" from Wet Willie's Manorisms album (1977).

Finally there were renditions of three well-known Betts-written numbers from the Allman Brothers' high-selling 1973 Brothers and Sisters album: "Ramblin' Man", "Jessica", and "Southbound". [11] But overall, both the set list and the feel of the music stayed away from the Allmans sound; from the stage, Hall described what they were playing as "barbecue music". [12]

A review of a January 1983 show in The Washington Post said of the new outfit, "They stripped away all the nonsense and excess of recent Southern-rock and returned to the rhythm & blues and country roots that once made this regional music so exciting." [12] There was a feeling within some in the music world that Southern rock had never gotten over the dissolution of the Allman Brothers and the loss of Lynyrd Skynyrd; [1] a profile of Hall in The Tennessean suggested that BHLT, based on its appearance at the Volunteer Jam, had the ability to fill that void. [15] However, Hall claimed no such goal, saying of the group's music, "It's beyond the same old southern-rock. It's a mixture of street rock & roll with rockabilly touches now." [15]

In search of a record deal

Manager Scher was enthusiastic about the group's prospects, later saying "that was a really good band," [2] and at least one reviewer predicted they would soon be attached to a label. [12] Towards this end they recorded some demos. [17] By August 1983 about half a dozen such demos had been made, [15] a number that would eventually grow to around a dozen. [11]

The song in the demos that would become the best known was "No One to Run With", which had been written by Betts along with John Prestia. [11] It was rediscovered twelve years later, [18] once the Allman Brothers had reformed for good, and was recorded for their 1994 album Where It All Begins . [11] With its elegiac feel paired to a Bo Diddley beat, it was the single released from the album, [18] and became a centerpiece of Allmans concerts in the years to follow.

At the time the demos were being made, Leavell said there were several companies interested. [9] However, Betts and Trucks were still signed to Arista Records, under the control of Clive Davis, and Davis was not interested in BHLT making an album. [2]

During July 1984, BHLT was once again an opening act for the Marshall Tucker Band, playing outdoor venues such as the Merriweather Post Pavilion in Maryland, [19] Pier 84 in New York City, [20] and Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati. [21]

End and legacy

But the year 1984 would be the last for BHLT. [10] Without a record contract, members of the group needed to look toward alternatives for their future. [8] As a result, the group split up. [2]

Because Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks never recorded an album, it has often been forgotten in the annals of Southern rock. But members of the group have subsequently held it in high regard. Betts would later recall: "Remember that group BHLT? It sounded like a deli sandwich but it was a pretty good band. But it died; nobody would even let us record an album." [2] Hall has stated, "We toured the country playing all the best venues ... but I think our direction was too varied for some people's tastes." [17] Leavell has written, "We had a strong band, and it cooked. In fact, I've always said in the years since that BHLT was the best band you've never heard of." [11]

Writer Dean Budnick has called BHLT an "intriguing project" that "never quite caught on". [4] Other critics have suggested that the group was playing the right music, but at the wrong time for it. [11]

With no album to document the group's existence, only a few tapes of live performances existed to document the group's existence. [4] One from the New York area circulated as a bootleg for a while. [11] However, in 2016 Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks – Live at The Coffee Pot 1983 was released by MVD Entertainment Group, capturing a performance at a club in Roanoke, Virginia. [22] The show had been broadcast live on television at the time, [17] by USA Network, and took some years to come to light. [23]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Allman Brothers Band</span> American rock band

The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman, as well as Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley (bass), Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). Subsequently, based in Macon, Georgia, they incorporated elements of blues, jazz and country music and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern rock</span> Subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana

Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music and a genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues and is focused generally on electric guitars and vocals. Author Scott B. Bomar speculates the term "Southern rock" may have been coined in 1972 by Mo Slotin, writing for Atlanta's underground paper, The Great Speckled Bird, in a review of an Allman Brothers Band concert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gregg Allman</span> American musician (1947–2017)

Gregory LeNoir Allman was an American musician, singer and songwriter. He was known for performing in the Allman Brothers Band. Allman grew up with an interest in rhythm and blues music, and the Allman Brothers Band fused it with rock music, jazz, and country at times. He wrote several of the band's most popular songs, including "Whipping Post", "Melissa", and "Midnight Rider". Allman also had a successful solo career, releasing seven studio albums. He was born and spent much of his childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, before relocating to Daytona Beach, Florida and then Macon, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Butch Trucks</span> American drummer (1947–2017)

Claude Hudson "Butch" Trucks was an American drummer. He was best known as a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995. Trucks was born and raised in Jacksonville, Florida.

The Volunteer Jam is a sporadically-held concert series headlined by the Charlie Daniels Band, featuring a multitude of musical acts that perform onstage with the band. It was first held on October 4, 1974, at the War Memorial Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dickey Betts</span> American guitarist, singer and songwriter (1943–2024)

Forrest Richard Betts was an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, composer and founding member of The Allman Brothers Band.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jaimoe</span> American drummer and percussionist

John Lee Johnson, frequently known by the stage names Jai Johanny Johanson and Jaimoe, is an American drummer and percussionist. He is best known as one of the founding members of the Allman Brothers Band and, with the death of Dickey Betts, is the last surviving original member of the band.

<i>Brothers and Sisters</i> (album) 1973 studio album by The Allman Brothers Band

Brothers and Sisters is the fourth studio album by American rock band The Allman Brothers Band. Co-produced by Johnny Sandlin and the band, the album was released in August 1973 in the United States by Capricorn Records. Following the death of group leader Duane Allman in 1971, the Allman Brothers Band released Eat a Peach (1972), a hybrid studio/live album that became their biggest-selling album to date. Afterwards, the group purchased a farm in Juliette, Georgia, to become a "group hangout". However, bassist Berry Oakley was visibly suffering from the death of Duane, excessively drinking and consuming drugs. In November 1972, after nearly a year of severe depression, Oakley was killed in a motorcycle accident, making it the last album on which he played.

<i>Win, Lose or Draw</i> (album) 1975 studio album by The Allman Brothers Band

Win, Lose or Draw is the fifth studio album and sixth overall by American rock group the Allman Brothers Band. Produced by Johnny Sandlin and the band themselves, it was released on August 22, 1975 in the United States by Capricorn Records. It was the last studio album to feature bassist Lamar Williams and pianist Chuck Leavell.

Lamar Williams was an American musician best known for serving as the bassist of The Allman Brothers Band (1972–1976) and Sea Level (1976–1980).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chuck Leavell</span> American musician

Charles Alfred Leavell is an American musician. A member of the Allman Brothers Band throughout their commercial zenith in the 1970s, he subsequently became a founding member of the band Sea Level. He has served as the principal touring keyboardist and musical director of the Rolling Stones since 1982. As a session musician, Leavell has performed on every Rolling Stones studio album released since 1983 with the exception of Bridges to Babylon (1997). He has also toured and recorded with Eric Clapton, George Harrison, David Gilmour, Gov't Mule and John Mayer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jessica (instrumental)</span> 1973 single by the Allman Brothers Band

"Jessica" is an instrumental piece by American rock band the Allman Brothers Band, released in December 1973 as the second single from the group's fourth studio album, Brothers and Sisters (1973). Written by guitarist Dickey Betts, the song is a tribute to gypsy jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt, in that it was designed to be played using only two fingers on the left hand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sea Level (band)</span> American rock band

Sea Level was an American rock band from Macon, Georgia. Formed in 1976, the band was an offshoot of the Allman Brothers Band. Between 1977 and 1980, the band released five studio albums which incorporated elements of funk, blues and Latin music.

"In Memory of Elizabeth Reed" is an instrumental composition by the American group The Allman Brothers Band. It first appeared on their second studio album, Idlewild South (1970), released on Capricorn Records. The jazz-influenced piece was written by guitarist Dickey Betts, among his first writing credits for the group. Betts named it after a headstone he saw for Elizabeth Jones Reed Napier in Rose Hill Cemetery in the band's hometown of Macon, Georgia. Multiple versions of the composition have been recorded, with the version performed on the group's 1971 live album At Fillmore East generally considered the definitive rendition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Allman Brothers Band discography</span>

The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969 by brothers Duane Allman and Gregg Allman, as well as Dickey Betts, Berry Oakley, Butch Trucks (drums), and Jai Johanny "Jaimoe" Johanson (drums). The band incorporated elements of Southern rock, blues, jazz, and country music, and their live shows featured jam band-style improvisation and instrumentals.

<i>Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY: 5/1/73</i> 2005 live album by The Allman Brothers Band

Nassau Coliseum: Uniondale, NY: 5/1/73 is a two-CD live album by the Allman Brothers Band. It was recorded at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York on May 1, 1973. The fourth archival concert release from the Allman Brothers Band Recording Company, it features the 1972 to 1976 lineup of the band – Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts, Chuck Leavell (piano), Lamar Williams (bass), Jaimoe (drums), and Butch Trucks (drums). It was released in 2005.

"Whipping Post" is a song by The Allman Brothers Band. Written by Gregg Allman, the five-minute studio version first appeared on their 1969 debut album The Allman Brothers Band. The song was regularly played live and was the basis for much longer and more intense performances. This was captured in the Allman Brothers' 1971 double live album At Fillmore East, where a 22-minute, 40-second rendition of the song takes up the entire final side. It was this recording that garnered "Whipping Post" spots on both the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list and Rolling Stone's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", which wrote, "the song is best appreciated in the twenty-three-minute incarnation on At Fillmore East."

<i>Where It All Begins</i> 1994 studio album by The Allman Brothers Band

Where It All Begins is the eleventh studio album by the Allman Brothers Band. "No One to Run With" obtained the most album-oriented rock airplay, while "Soulshine", written by Warren Haynes, gained success as a concert and fan favorite. Gregg Allman also started to confront his substance abuse problems in the past on songs such as "All Night Train". The album sold considerably better than its predecessor, Shades of Two Worlds. In 1998, the album went Gold. Nevertheless, critical reception was weaker. This was also the last studio album the group recorded with original guitarist Dickey Betts.

"No One to Run With" is a song written by Dickey Betts and John Prestia and performed by The Allman Brothers Band. It was originally written around 1982, and then recorded as a demo by the group Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks around 1983. That group was unable to find a recording contract, and it would be over a decade before the song was rediscovered and recorded by the Allman Brothers.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Patoski, Joe Nick (1980). "Southern Rock". In Miller, Jim (ed.). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll (Revised and updated ed.). Random House/Rolling Stone Press Book. pp. 357–359. ISBN   0-394-73938-8.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Paul, Alan (2014). One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band. New York: St. Martin's Press. pp. xx, 240, 261, 264. ISBN   978-1-250-04049-7.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 King, Bill (January 13, 1983). "Chuck Leavell regrouping band without Allman". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 4-B – via Newspapers.com.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Budnick, Dean (2003). Jambands: The complete guide to the players, music & scene. San Francisco: Backbeat Books. pp. 4, 20. ISBN   0-87930-745-5.
  5. 1 2 3 Marsh, Dave; Swenson, John, eds. (1983). The New Rolling Stone Record Guide . Random House/Rolling Stone Press. pp. 214, 541–542. ISBN   0-394-72107-1.
  6. ↑ "Jimmy Hall: Discography". Allmusic. Retrieved May 5, 2022.
  7. ↑ Waddell, Ray (December 18, 1999). "Working for the Band: Manager Bert Holman". Billboard. p. 30.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Ziehli, Andy (August–September 2019). "Danny Parks Super Picker". Americana Gazette. pp. 10–13.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Freeman, Scott (April 15, 1983). "The Sound's Good and Hot, But the Band Needs a Name". The Macon News. The Macon Telegraph. p. 4 (Leisure) – via Newspapers.com.
  10. 1 2 Tunis, Walter (April 21, 1991). "David Goldflies' jazz vision". Lexington Herald-Leader. pp. C1, C7 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Leavell, Chuck; Craig, J. Marshall (2004). Between Rock And A Home Place. Dry Branch, Georgia: Evergreen Arts. pp. x, 260–264. ISBN   0-86554-975-3.
  12. 1 2 3 4 5 Himes, Geoffrey (January 27, 1983). "After the Allmans: Home to the Country". The Washington Post.
  13. ↑ "Top of the week: Chaka, Kaukonen, Allman alums". The Home News. Central New Jersey. January 27, 1983. p. 7 (On the Go!) – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ↑ "'Journey' launches busy concert month". The Herald-News. Clifton-Passaic, New Jersey. May 6, 1983. p. D-16 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Oermann, Robert K. (August 6, 1983). "Jimmy Hall Goes Solo At Bluebird". The Tennessean. p. 4-D – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ↑ Oermann, Robert K. (October 23, 1983). "Hot Rock Meltdown Friday". The Tennessean. p. 38 (Pennywhistle Press) – via Newspapers.com.
  17. 1 2 3 Brunot, Luc (September–October 2007). "Jimmy Hall: Wet Willie". Bands of Dixie.
  18. 1 2 Reason, Betsy (July 14, 1994). "The Allman Brothers live!". The Noblesville Ledger. p. A5 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ "Miller High Life Concerts at Merriweather Post Pavilion (advertisement)". The Baltimore Sun. June 24, 1984. p. L10 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ↑ "Tonight in New York: Waterfront Rock". New York Daily News. July 11, 1984. p. 39 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Calendar of Events: In the Region: Music". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. July 27, 1984. p. B12 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ↑ Wright, Jeb. "Betts, Hall, Leavell And Trucks – Live At The Coffee Pot 1983 MVD Entertainment Group". Classic Rock Revisited. Retrieved January 27, 2022.
  23. ↑ Dickens, Ted (September 11, 2009). "Wayback machine: Betts, Hall, Leavell and Trucks at the Coffee Pot, circa 1983". The Roanoke Times.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.