Dimebag Darrell - Early Years

Early Years

Darrell Abbott was born to Carolyn and Jerry Abbott, a country musician and producer. He took up guitar when he was 13, and his first guitar was a Hondo Les Paul he got with a small amp. Winning a series of local guitar competitions, most notably held at The Agora Ballroom in Dallas, where he was awarded a Dean ML which he sold to Buddy Blaze who put a Floyd Rose bridge on it and gave it Dimebag's signature lighting bolt paint job and then gave it back to him years later. Coincidentally, his father had bought him a cherryburst finish Dean ML standard the morning before the competition. He also met his long time girlfriend Rita Haney at a young age around the third grade.