Luther Sylvester Allison[1] (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997)[2][3] was an Americanblues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas,[4] although some accounts suggest his actual place of birth was Mayflower, Arkansas.[1][5] Allison was interested in music as a child and during the late 1940s he toured in a family gospel group called The Southern Travellers.[1] He moved with his family to Chicago in 1951[6] and attended Farragut High School[1] where he was classmates with Muddy Waters' son.[4] He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he dropped out of school[1] and began hanging around outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being invited to perform. Allison played with the bands of Howlin' Wolf and Freddie King, taking over King's band when King toured nationally.[4][1] He worked with Jimmy Dawkins, Magic Sam and Otis Rush,[1][4] and also backed James Cotton. Chicago Reader has called him "the Jimi Hendrix of blues guitar".[7]
Biography
Early life
Luther Sylvester Allison was born on August 18, 1939, in Widener, Arkansas, the fourteenth of 15 children. His family moved to Chicago when he was 12, in search of better opportunities. Several of Allison's siblings sang in a gospel group called the Southern Travellers. One of his older brothers, Ollie, soon began working as a guitarist on Chicago's booming South Side blues scene. Seeking to emulate his brother, Luther took up the guitar himself. By the middle of his teens, Allison was good enough to sit in with his brother's band on club dates.[8]
Career
From 1954, Allison jammed with his brother's band, the Ollie Lee Allison Band.[1][4] By 1957, he had formed a band with Ollie and another brother, Grant Allison, initially called The Rolling Stones, later changed to The Four Jivers, and they performed at clubs in Chicago.[4][1]
Luther Allison at the 1970 Ann Arbor Blues Festival.
Allison's big break came in 1957, when Howlin' Wolf invited him to the stage. The same year he worked briefly with Jimmy Dawkins, playing in local clubs.[1]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.[4] He worked the club circuit in the late 1950s and early 1960s. During this period, Allison moved to California for a year where he worked with Shakey Jake Harris and Sunnyland Slim.[4] He 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.[6] He toured nationwide. In 1972, he signed with Motown Records, becoming one of the label's very few blues artists.[4][9] In the mid-1970s he toured Europe. He moved to France in 1977.[9]
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.
Illness and death
During his tour in the summer of 1997, Allison checked into a hospital on July 10, 1997 for dizziness and loss of coordination. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that had metastasized to his brain.[10] He began radiation therapy on July 16, which lasted until August 1. In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin.[6][11] His final album, Reckless, had just been released five months prior.
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.[12]
^ abcdefghijHarris, Sheldon (1991). Blues who's who : a biographical dictionary of blues singers. New York, N.Y.: Da Capo Press. pp. 30–33. ISBN0306801558.
^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.
