The Allman Brothers Jessica
Friday, April 18th, 2008Jessica, which was first recorded in 1972, was written by Dickey Betts (guitarist of the Allman Brothers Band) and was under Capricorn Records. It was the official soundtrack to the popular TV Show Top Gear.
The song was in the album Brothers and Sisters which was first released in 1973, and was used for other musical contexts. It was also referred to as “a true national heirloom” by an article published in Wall Street Journal in January 2006.
The song was named after Jessica Betts, daughter of the band’s guitarist Dickey Betts and his bride-to-be Sandy Bluesky.
This buoyant-tuned rock song lengths for about seven minutes or so, and cited as something to be like a “driving song” since it was the theme song for the TV show Top Gear which was a motoring program in UK.
This was also a the First Allman Brothers song recorded with the band’s new bassist Lamar Williams after the terrible motorcycle accident of former band member Berry Oakley.
“Jessica” topped at number 65 on the Billboard 100 charts and was the Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the Grammy Awards in 1996 for its live version.
Listen to the song for yourself below, from 1982