THURSDAY JAM: Early morning sunshine tell me all I need to know

What was it like to be the most famous member of the Allman Brothers Band who wasn’t, technically speaking, an Allman brother?

Any chance we had to ask the question went away Thursday with the passing of Dickey Betts at the age of 80.

Because the two actual Allman brothers were certainly more celebrated.

Gregg Allman (1947-2017) was, probably correctly, the best-known singer in the band.

Meanwhile Duane Allman (1946-1971) is probably the more celebrated guitarist, which is a disservice to Betts. They were equals.

The truth is, it’s hard to imagine the Allman Brothers Band without its longtime lead guitarist (after Duane’s death and, with it, the death of the co-lead guitarist arrangement) and occasional lead singer. To remove Betts’ contributions would be to take away a big part of the legacy of one of America’s greatest bands.

But no one is discounting Betts on today of all days. His “Ramblin’ Man” is in the running for the most recognizable song in the band’s catalog. His instrumentals like “Jessica,” “In Memory of Elizabeth Reed” and “Les Brers in A Minor” are sprawling and intricate and downright beautiful.

But for me, the ultimate Betts track will always be “Blue Sky.” There’s not really much to why, except that it’s just this simple little song about a morning walk in nature, then Betts shreds for like three minutes before singing the second verse and a repeat of the chorus and just bringing it to a close.

It’s like a quadruple stuft Oreo.

The live version below isn’t quite as absurd as the original, in that it’s about a minute shorter and the instrumental break is actually a collaborative effort, not just guitar out front all the time.

Still great, though. Man, could these guys play.

RIP, Dickey.