Allman Brothers founding member in critical condition after "freak accident"

SARASOTA, Fl. — It’s been a rough couple of years for former Allman Brothers Band members.

Both bandleader Gregg Allman and drummer Butch Trucks died in 2017, and now, guitarist Dickey Betts is undergoing surgery following what has been called a "freak accident," the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. 

The Florida-based Rock and Roll Hall of Famer who wrote some of the band’s biggest and best known songs, including "Ramblin' Man," was “playing with the family dog, slipped and cracked his head, causing bleeding from the brain,” according to a statement posted on his Facebook page.

Betts is listed in “critical but stable condition,” says the statement. He has been sedated and will undergo brain surgery on Friday, Sept. 21, to relieve swelling.

When the accident happened, the 74-year-old musician was recovering from a mild stroke that happened last month and was said to be recovering well. He was doing well enough that a series of dates that had been canceled were rescheduled.

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On Instagram, Dickey's longtime friend and manager David Spero asks everyone to keep Dickey in your thoughts and prayers as well. "It was just a few days ago that Dickey told me how excited he was to get back in front of his fans in November,” he writes.

Those November dates, including a Nov. 1 show at Bell Auditorium in Augusta, have all been canceled.

This story was written by Shane Harrison for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Cox Media Group