Duane Betts Says Releasing New Single 'Heartache' About Late Father Dickey Betts Was a 'Cathartic Experience' (Exclusive)
Duane Betts Says Releasing New Single 'Heartache' About Late Father Dickey Betts Was a 'Cathartic Experience' (Exclusive)
Chris BarillaSat, April 18, 2026 at 12:10 AM UTC
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Duane BettsCredit: Bobbi Rich -
Duane Betts' new single "Heartache" reflects on grief and honors his late father, Dickey Betts, and other lost loved ones
The song's emotional music video balances a tribute to Dickey with broader themes of loss and healing
"Heartache" leads into Duane's upcoming album Isle of Hope, inspired by personal struggles and the concept of finding hope when all else is lost
Duane Betts is paying homage to his late father, Dickey Betts, and all others whom he has lost over the years.
The son of the legendary Allman Brothers Band member tells PEOPLE that his latest single, "Heartache," comes from a place of healing and recognition of what he has had, and what he has lost.
“'Heartache' is obviously a deeply personal song to me. It's the most personal song that I've ever written," he explains. “It was written on the heels of my father's passing… it's the experience of me losing my father and coming through that and out the other side.”
However, Duane didn't stop his healing by channeling his father on the song, he also brought in the energy of many others he has lost over the years.
Duane BettsCredit: Bobbi Rich
“Once you get further down the road, you realize… it's about all of them. It's about my dad, it's about my friends — it's about all my loved ones that I've lost," he shares.
Dickey died on April 18, 2024, at the age of 80 at his home in Osprey, Fla. His manager, David Spero, confirmed at the time that Betts died due to cancer and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Duane wrote, in part, on Facebook in the wake of his father's death, "Oh dad, I miss you so much. You are the brightest light. I have looked up to you for the 46 + years we have shared on this planet together. I am filled with gratitude to the deepest depths of my soul for what you taught me and the values you instilled in me. I know you will always be right here with me."
Dickey BettsCredit: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic
Music, for Duane, is the ultimate form of healing. Thanks to this unique link he has with Dickey, he is able to form spiritual bonds beyond the physical realm and keep his father's spirit present with him at all times. “Songs are funny. They just come out of nowhere. You can't make them happen," he tells PEOPLE. “Grief is experienced in different ways… I feel so close to him on stage. I kind of have this unfair advantage because I get to go up there and be with him every night.”
“I feel like I keep him in my back pocket up on that stage," Duane says.
Duane BettsCredit: Bobbi Rich
"Heartache" lands on listeners as a document of grief in motion. Shaped as much by restraint as by release, it is carried by an intentionally repetitive, almost hesitant chorus that is anchored by a tasteful guitar solo functioning as a de facto blow off valve following true emotional buildup. As a whole, the track is distinctly Duane, but echoes his lineage by evoking the expressive, melodic phrasing associated with the Allman Brothers Band tradition.
Duane recalls “a huge weight off of my shoulders" when he went "into the studio [to] capture it," as if he was offering an overarching eulogy on the loss in his life. “You really have to commit to it… let yourself be naked and really let people see your heart ... Maybe [the vocals are] not the most polished, but they're just so real — it's like I'm sitting on the couch.”
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“It was a cathartic experience to be able to actually capture the lightning in the bottle and be vulnerable and sing the song just how you would sing it if you were alone sitting on the couch," he adds.
Accompanying the song is a loving music video tribute that highlights the aforementioned loss that Duane has endured. Though Dickey is featured in the visuals, Duane intentionally did not center it, as his evolving with the track grew its meaning to focus on other figures beyond his father, as well as his own relationship with grief.
“Because we want to touch on it. We want to bring my dad into it, but we don't want to make it… there's a balance there," he notes. "You don't want to overdo that and make that the forefront of the whole thing, but you definitely want it because that's what the song is. So it's a fine balance to strike.”
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"Heartache" arrives as a healing moment, leading into Duane's next full-length project, Isle of Hope, which hits streaming services on June 12. To the artist, "the record, emotionally, spans through a lot of territory.”
Duane BettsCredit: Bobbi Rich
“I've been through a lot with addiction… it's very simple, but — best wishes, sweet memories, no regrets," he shares. " 'Winners of War' is straight addiction… it's a love letter to the darkness and the great memories of that time all encapsulated into one.”
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As for the inspiration behind the album as a whole, Duane recalls, “I kept driving to the studio and every day I would see the sign, ‘You are now entering Isle of Hope.' One day I went in there, I said, ‘Man, that's a cool title.' Hope is a beautiful word.”
“Music is the sanctuary, music is the medicine, so this is kind of the sanctuary—that's just your little piece of land, it's your Isle of Hope," he doubles down.
"Heartache" is available on all major streaming services now. Isle of Hope will arrive on June 12.
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
