Family History

Sir Dimebag Darrell

Lived in Era 16, got 0 heir(s) and was a member of Legacy
Darrell Lance Abbott was born in Arlington, Texas the son of country songwriter Jerry Abbott. His father owned a recording studio, Pantego Sound Studios, in Pantego, Texas, where Darrell had seen many blues guitarists play, inspiring him to take up the instrument himself. At first, he wanted to play the drums. However, after discovering that he wasn't as good as his brother Vincent, he decided to try the guitar instead. When he did finally learn how to play it, he and his brother jammed to the intro to "Smoke on the Water" (by Deep Purple) for hours. At an early age, Abbott began entering statewide guitar competitions and by the age of sixteen had been banned from entering because he had won too often. He often competed against guitar players who had up to 12 years more experience in guitar playing than him yet he would still win.

Among Dimebag's influences were Judas Priest, Randy Rhoads, Eddie Van Halen, and Ace Frehley. Dimebag once said in an interview that if there was no Ace Frehley, there would have been no Dimebag Darrell - he even had a tattoo of the Kiss guitarist on his chest. In addition, he cited many of his contemporaries among his influences, including Slayer's Kerry King, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society, Metallica's James Hetfield, and Helmet's Page Hamilton. He also credits Vito Rulez of Chauncy for convincing him to try Bill Lawrence pickups.

DIME has been compared to such legends as EDDIE VAN HALEN, RANDY RHOADS, JIMI HENDRIX, STEVIE RAY VAUGHN, BILLY GIBBONS, ANGUS YOUNG, TONY IOMMI, GLEN TIPTON, K.K. DOWNING, & ACE FREHLEY. Mentioned among such a skilled and innovative list of players like that is quite an accomplishment in it's own right.

Not only do most people agree that he is perhaps the best metal guitarist ever, most people agree that he may very well the most influential guitarist to come along since EDDIE VAN HALEN. Dropped D tuning, whammy bar antics, energetic blues playing all mixed into one of the most powerful guitar tones ever heard... DIME was doing this long before it became popular. His style has perservered through hair metal, grunge, alternative, rapcore... no other guitarist has been this captivating or has lasted through such diverse musical trends.

On December 8th, 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag Darrell was shot and killed onstage by a crazed fan named Nathan Gale. Abbott received a total of five gunshot wounds. He was 38 years old.