only photographer on the boat.
You know what’s weird, man, I’ve looked at your stuff so much, I can go back and tell if it’s a Sidney picture or I can tell a Herb Kossover picture, or a Kirk West. I don’t know why, same thing with Jim Marshall, it’s just cer- tain feel that you have with your pho- tography. I can spot them and I couldn’t before I met you, and before I got the book, I didn’t even know about you, but I am glad I do now. I am so sorry that happened with Paul Believe me, so am I.
That had to be a heartbreaker but by the same token just the fact that you were let in like that. Well, I gave up photography shortly after that but I did not give up my relationship with the Allman Brothers. I continued with them over the years and I stayed in touch with them. When Allman Betts band happened I natu- rally had to meet them and they all knew me ahead of time. I hadn’t met them but they knew me or knew of me and all that. Then I got a good Devon Allman story because and I put this one in the book too.
About the Mother? Yeah, when Gregg died, Devon called me and he wouldn’t have recognized me on the street if he had seen me, but he called me and he asked me if I had any pictures of his parents together and I said as a matter of fact, I do have pictures of your parents together, but I can’t get it to you before the funeral, because it was a negative. It was 1970, and the nega- tive was damaged, but I was going on Rock Legends Cruise couple months later, so I de- cided I would have the negative restored, have the picture printed up framed and mat- ted and everything and surprise him with it. So there was a meet and greet line going on and I waited until the end, until the last few
Dickey and Sandy Blue Sky. (Sidney Smith Photo)
people were in line, and I put myself in line with my photo and as I walked up to him he said “Hey, I’m Devon, How are you?” I said, “I’m Sidney, how are you?” and I gave him the photo. It was a moment, you know. He certainly did appreciate it, and that photo is now hanging in his home. Then when I met Duane Betts, Dickey’s
son, the first thing he did when I started talk- ing to him, he pulled out a tape recorder and said I want you to talk into the recorder and tell this story, he was collecting stories about the old days so that was amusing. I’ve got pic- tures nobody’s got, I’ve got family members, wives, the kids, the studio.
I loved all the ones in the book of the children, those are some of my fa- vorites. Yeah. Like Vaylor (Trucks) for instance. There is one of those that I have of him as a child
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