Betts Debunks Allman/Zeppelin Velvet Pant Row

When I heard that a bunch of 1970s rockers were feuding over velvet pants, I couldn’t help myself from posting.

Round One: In an interview with Relix (via Starpulse), Allman Brothers drummer Butch Trucks (Derek Trucks’ uncle) recounted a story about Duane Allman feeling betrayed by his idols in Led Zeppelin back in the day. Goes like this:

“Robert Plant starts running all over the stage with his velvet pants on, and we were all looking at each other, (like) ‘What the fuck is this?’ “Duane got up and said, ‘I’m either going to go up there and kick the f-k out of that guy or we’re leaving.’ And we all got up and left. It just infuriated Duane. He was so let down by one of his gods.”

Round Two: Former Allman Brothers guitarist Dickey Betts disputed the story to the New York Post: “I know Duane didn’t feel that way and never said that. We loved (Led Zeppelin guitarist, Jimmy) Page and those guys. It’s ludicrous. And it’s not fair to Duane Allman, who has passed away and can’t speak for himself. He had velvet pants himself.”

Maybe Duane was ashamed of his velvet pants and wasn’t ready to come out of the closet. That explains everything, n’est-ce pas? Wonder if we can get Bowie to chime in on this.