"Jessica" is a rock instrumental written by Dickey Betts, guitarist of The … Read Full Bio ↴"Jessica" is a rock instrumental written by Dickey Betts, guitarist of The Allman Brothers Band.
Jessica was first released on the band's 1973 album Brothers and Sisters, and has subsequently been used in many musical contexts. In January 2006, a Wall Street Journal article referred to the piece as "a true national heirloom."
The piece, along with "Ramblin' Man", is one of the two most famous tracks from the album, an album which marked the beginning of a new era for the Allman Brothers Band following the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. The song is named for Jessica Betts, the daughter of Dickey Betts and bride-to-be Sandy Bluesky.
Composition
The piece is very structured, starting out with an opening motif on acoustic guitar (played by guest guitarist Les Dudek) that gradually builds into the signature main theme played by Dickey Betts on two[citation needed] electric guitars, Gregg Allman on Hammond Organ, and Chuck Leavell on Fender Rhodes Electric Piano. The theme follows in a somewhat "verse/chorus" style, but quickly changes directions after the second "verse", breaking back down into the opening motif. The reprise of the opening motif builds at a slower pace, introducing different percussion instruments (congas, tambourine, maracas) and the dueling Grand Piano and Bass Guitar melody-line one by one until the drumset enters to introduce the Grand piano solo section. Soon the piece changes key from A Major to D Major for Betts's guitar solo. An establishing melody line at the end of the solo and another set of key changes brings the piece back to the original main theme, breaking down this time at the "chorus" section to end the piece.
The original version on Brothers and Sisters clocks in at 7:30, although there is a shortened single edit, which cuts out some of the main theme at the end of the piece, trimming it to 7:00 exactly. This version is the one heard on most classic rock radio stations, and any kind of various artist compilation on which "Jessica" has been featured. However, most Allman Brothers compilations use the full 7:30 version.
Dickey Betts wrote this instrumental piece as a tribute to Django Reinhardt, as it only uses two fingers in the guitar part. Reinhardt was a famous jazz guitarist who could only use two fingers in his playing as a result of a childhood injury.
History
"Jessica" was the first Allman Brothers song recorded with new bassist Lamar Williams after the fatal motorcycle accident of Berry Oakley.
Although not successful as a single, topping out at #65 on the Billboard 100 charts, the song achieved considerable airplay on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio and helped make Brothers and Sisters a commercial success. A later live version of "Jessica" won a Grammy Award in 1996, twenty-three years after the initial release, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
It eventually became the theme tune to popular British motoring programme Top Gear since the show's inception in 1978. Since 2002 the theme tune is a significantly reworked electronic version of the song. The record was also experimented with by Top Gear presenter James May by using a variety of car engine sounds molded together.
Cover Versions
* The alternative-rock group They Might Be Giants did a cover version of the song, which was released on their Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) EP.
* Country band Shenandoah does a cover of Jessica at the end of their number one hit "I Got You."
* Chuck Leavell did an entirely piano cover version of the song on the "Southscape" album. [1]
Appearance in Pop Culture
* The song was featured in the movie Field of Dreams and at the end of the movie Lassie (1994). It is also used as the opening theme song for the Dr. Dean Edell radio show.
* More recently, the song was featured in the video game Guitar Hero II, in the "Relentless Riffs" section of the PlayStation 2 version and in the "Return of the Shred" section of the Xbox 360 version.
* In television series, the song has been featured in The Simpsons episode Little Big Girl and the episode "Randy in Charge" of My Name is Earl. In addition, during the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode The Thing That Couldn't Die, Tom Servo would mimic the first few bars whenever someone referred to a character named Jessica by name.
*The British car show Top Gear has used several versions of Jessica as it's theme tune.
Jessica was first released on the band's 1973 album Brothers and Sisters, and has subsequently been used in many musical contexts. In January 2006, a Wall Street Journal article referred to the piece as "a true national heirloom."
The piece, along with "Ramblin' Man", is one of the two most famous tracks from the album, an album which marked the beginning of a new era for the Allman Brothers Band following the deaths of Duane Allman and Berry Oakley. The song is named for Jessica Betts, the daughter of Dickey Betts and bride-to-be Sandy Bluesky.
Composition
The piece is very structured, starting out with an opening motif on acoustic guitar (played by guest guitarist Les Dudek) that gradually builds into the signature main theme played by Dickey Betts on two[citation needed] electric guitars, Gregg Allman on Hammond Organ, and Chuck Leavell on Fender Rhodes Electric Piano. The theme follows in a somewhat "verse/chorus" style, but quickly changes directions after the second "verse", breaking back down into the opening motif. The reprise of the opening motif builds at a slower pace, introducing different percussion instruments (congas, tambourine, maracas) and the dueling Grand Piano and Bass Guitar melody-line one by one until the drumset enters to introduce the Grand piano solo section. Soon the piece changes key from A Major to D Major for Betts's guitar solo. An establishing melody line at the end of the solo and another set of key changes brings the piece back to the original main theme, breaking down this time at the "chorus" section to end the piece.
The original version on Brothers and Sisters clocks in at 7:30, although there is a shortened single edit, which cuts out some of the main theme at the end of the piece, trimming it to 7:00 exactly. This version is the one heard on most classic rock radio stations, and any kind of various artist compilation on which "Jessica" has been featured. However, most Allman Brothers compilations use the full 7:30 version.
Dickey Betts wrote this instrumental piece as a tribute to Django Reinhardt, as it only uses two fingers in the guitar part. Reinhardt was a famous jazz guitarist who could only use two fingers in his playing as a result of a childhood injury.
History
"Jessica" was the first Allman Brothers song recorded with new bassist Lamar Williams after the fatal motorcycle accident of Berry Oakley.
Although not successful as a single, topping out at #65 on the Billboard 100 charts, the song achieved considerable airplay on progressive rock and album oriented rock radio and helped make Brothers and Sisters a commercial success. A later live version of "Jessica" won a Grammy Award in 1996, twenty-three years after the initial release, for Best Rock Instrumental Performance.
It eventually became the theme tune to popular British motoring programme Top Gear since the show's inception in 1978. Since 2002 the theme tune is a significantly reworked electronic version of the song. The record was also experimented with by Top Gear presenter James May by using a variety of car engine sounds molded together.
Cover Versions
* The alternative-rock group They Might Be Giants did a cover version of the song, which was released on their Why Does The Sun Shine? (The Sun Is a Mass of Incandescent Gas) EP.
* Country band Shenandoah does a cover of Jessica at the end of their number one hit "I Got You."
* Chuck Leavell did an entirely piano cover version of the song on the "Southscape" album. [1]
Appearance in Pop Culture
* The song was featured in the movie Field of Dreams and at the end of the movie Lassie (1994). It is also used as the opening theme song for the Dr. Dean Edell radio show.
* More recently, the song was featured in the video game Guitar Hero II, in the "Relentless Riffs" section of the PlayStation 2 version and in the "Return of the Shred" section of the Xbox 360 version.
* In television series, the song has been featured in The Simpsons episode Little Big Girl and the episode "Randy in Charge" of My Name is Earl. In addition, during the Mystery Science Theater 3000 episode The Thing That Couldn't Die, Tom Servo would mimic the first few bars whenever someone referred to a character named Jessica by name.
*The British car show Top Gear has used several versions of Jessica as it's theme tune.
Jessica
The Allman Brothers Band Lyrics
Instrumental
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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@neilgerace355
Some say ... this is one of the greatest instrumentals of all.
@nightsketcher
Indeed!
@petersonlafollette3521
Their sound ruled the airwaves- was like a modern-life soundtrack!
@tddeyoung
All we know is….
@Th30th3rJ0J0
@Tom DeYoung It's name is Jessica!
@binkymagnus
on that bombshell, I'm going to enjoy the performance
@raytello6557
Richard Dickey Betts the most criminally underrated blues rock guitarist. He melted that whole crowds faces with that solo.
@pauljordan4452
No, Ray. He's simply the most melodic guitarist. Notice he's using two fingers of his left hand, in homage to Django Reinhardt.
@neilangus4401
Just remember it's a dual guitar play
Can't remember the other dude
@gayleash9712
I won't harsh on Dickey Betts, however, he is underrated because he just plays. Sometimes that happens when a instrumentalist is really good; he goes on automatic. I've seen the Allman Brother's perform LIVE many times, and though his performance is technically good, he has underwhelmed the audience.