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Luther Allison

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Luther Allison
Allison performing at the 1996 Riverwalk Blues Festival
Allison performing at the 1996 Riverwalk
Blues Festival
Background information
Born(1939-08-17)August 17, 1939
Widener, Arkansas, United States
DiedAugust 12, 1997(1997-08-12) (aged 57)
Madison, Wisconsin, United States
GenresBlues, Chicago blues
OccupationMusician
Instrument(s)Vocals, guitar
Years active1957–1997
LabelsDelmark, Motown, Ruf, Alligator, Rumble, Blind Pig
WebsiteLuther-Allison.com

Luther Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997)[1][2] was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas, and moved with his family to Chicago in 1951.[3] He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging around outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being invited to perform. He played with Howlin' Wolf's band and backed James Cotton.

Career

Allison's big break came in 1957, when Howlin' Wolf invited him to the stage. Freddie King took Allison under his wing, and after King got a record deal, Allison took over his gig in the house band of a club on Chicago's West Side. He worked the club circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s and recorded his first single in 1965. He signed a recording contract with Delmark Records in 1967 and released his debut album, Love Me Mama, the following year. He performed a well-received set at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival and as a result was asked to perform there in each of the next three years.[3] He toured nationwide. In 1972, he signed with Motown Records, one of the few blues artists on that label.[4] In the mid-1970s he toured Europe. He moved to France in 1977.[4]

Allison was known for his powerful concert performances, lengthy soulful guitar solos and crowd walking with his Gibson Les Paul. He lived briefly during this period in Peoria, Illinois, where he signed with Rumble Records, releasing two live recordings, "Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight", produced by Bill Knight, and "Power Wire Blues", produced by George Faber and Jeffrey P. Hess. Allison played the bar circuit in the United States during this period and spent eight months of the year in Europe at high-profile venues, including the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1992, he performed with the French rock and roll star Johnny Hallyday in 18 shows in Paris, also playing during the intermission.

Allison's manager and European agent, Thomas Ruf, founded Ruf Records in 1994. Signing with Ruf Records, Allison launched a comeback in association with Alligator Records. Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer convinced Allison to return to the United States. The album Soul Fixin' Man was recorded and released in 1994, and Allison toured the United States and Canada. He won four W. C. Handy Awards in 1994. With the James Solberg Band backing him, nonstop touring and the release of Blue Streak (featuring the song "Cherry Red Wine"), Allison earned more Handy Awards and gained wider recognition. He won several Living Blues Awards and was featured on the covers of blues publications.

During his tour in the summer of 1997, Allison checked into a hospital for dizziness and loss of coordination. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that had metastasized to his brain.[5] In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin.[3] His album Reckless had just been released.

His son Bernard Allison, at one time a member of his band, is now a solo recording artist. Bernard, the youngest of nine siblings, was exposed to all kinds of music by his father. The younger Allison made his first venture into the music business at age 13, when he performed on a live album with his father.[6]

Allison was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times called him "the Bruce Springsteen of the blues".[7] He was a strong influence on many young blues guitarists, such as Chris Beard[8] and Reggie Sears.[9]

Allison is buried at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois.

Discography

Studio and live albums

Year Title Label Number Notes
1969 Love Me Mama Delmark 625
1972 Bad News Is Coming Motown/Gordy 964
1974 Luther's Blues Motown/Gordy 967
1976 Night Life Motown/Gordy 974
1977 Love Me Papa Black & Blue 33.524 Reissued as Estudio Eldorado 524 (Brazil) and Evidence CD 26015 (U.S.)
1979 Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight! Rumble 1001 Recorded live in Peoria, Illinois, on April 18–19, 1979; reissued as South Side Safari, Red Lightnin' 0036
1979 Power Wire Blues Rumble 1004 Part 2 of the Peoria concert; reissued 1985 as Charly 1105
1979 Live in Paris Paris Album/Buda 2-28501 Recorded in Paris, La Chapelle Des Lombards, 1979; also issued as Ruf 1354, Free Bird 209/FLY06, Pläne 88295, Platinum 161354
1979 Live Blue Silver 3001/3321 Part 2 of the 1979 Paris concert; also on Blue Sky/Buda
1980 Time Paris Album/Buda 2-28505
1984 Let's Have a Natural Ball JSP 1077
1984 Life Is a Bitch Encore!/Melodie 131 Blind Pig 2287 (1987) in the U.S., retitled Serious
1985 Here I Come Encore!/Melodie 133
1987 Rich Man Ruf 8001 Also RFR 1005, Charly CRB 1227, Orbis BLU NC 044 (plus 3 bonus tracks)
1991 More from Berlin East West LACD 1991-2 Live, 1989
1992 Hand Me Down My Moonshine Inak/Ruf 1047 Acoustic
1992 Bercy 92 (Johnny Hallyday) Philips 514 400 Electric guitar on one title; recorded live at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy
1994 Soul Fixin' Man Alligator 4820 Ruf 1021 in Europe, retitled Bad Love
1995 Blue Streak Alligator 4834 Ruf 7712 in Europe
1996 Live ’89: Let's Try It Again Ruf 1028 Recorded in Berlin, May 1989
1996 Live in Montreux: Where Have You Been? Ruf 1008 Recorded 1976–1994
1997 Reckless Alligator 4849 Ruf 1012 in Europe
1999 Live in Chicago Alligator 4869 Ruf 1042 in Europe, recorded 1995–1997, 2-disc set
1999 Standing at the Crossroad Black & Blue 421.1 Recorded 1977 in Paris; also Night & Day 210, Blues Reference
2002 Pay It Forward Ruf 1060 Recorded 1984–1994
2007 Underground Ruf 1132 Recorded c. 1958
2009 Songs from the Road Ruf 1157 CD and DVD recorded in Montreal, 1997

[10] [11] [12] [13] [14]

Compilations

Year Title Label Number Notes
1995 Sweet Home Chicago Charly BM-37
1996 The Motown Years, 1972–1976 Motown/Universal

Video

Year Title Label Number Notes
1998 Live in Paradise Ruf VHS Recorded on La Reunion Island, April 1997; also released on DVD (2001)
2009 Songs from the Road Ruf 1157 CD and DVD recorded in Montreal, 1997

See also

References

  1. ^ Doc Rock. "The Dead Rock Stars Club: 1996–1997". TheDeadRockStarsClub.com. Retrieved 2011-12-06.
  2. ^ "Luther Allison, 57, a Bluesman". New York Times. 1997-08-17. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2016-07-25.
  3. ^ a b c Skelly, Richard. "Luther Allison: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2015-08-31.
  4. ^ a b Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books. p. 88. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
  5. ^ "Cancer Strikes Blues Guitarist". St. Petersburg Times. Reuters. July 17, 1997. p. 2B. Retrieved June 24, 2009. [dead link]
  6. ^ Coleman, Wayne (2000-11-04). "Bernard Allison's Hybrid Blues: The Son of Legendary Blues Man Luther Allison, Bernard Allison Blends Rock, Jazz, Soul and His Father's Sound into a Different Musical Voice". Afro-American Red Star.
  7. ^ [1] [dead link]
  8. ^ Rose, Billy. "Chris Beard Interview". Independent Midwest Interview. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 11 April 2014.
  9. ^ "Discographie". Luther-Allison.com. Petra Toppat. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  10. ^ "Luther Allison: All Records". Ruf Records. Archived from the original on January 23, 2010. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  11. ^ Heinlein, G.; Antonsson, Görgen; Ziegler, François (October 2003). "Bingow/Paris Album Records Checklist". jazzlabels. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  12. ^ "Luther Allison: Discography". Allmusic.com. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
  13. ^ "Luther Allison: Discography". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
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