Luther Allison

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Luther Allison
LutherAllison1996.jpg
Allison performing at the 1996 Riverwalk Blues Festival
Background information
Born (1939-08-17)August 17, 1939
Widener, Arkansas, United States
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Madison, Wisconsin, United States
Genres Blues, Chicago blues
Occupation(s) Musician
Instruments Vocals, guitar
Years active 1957–1997
Labels Delmark Records, Motown Records, Ruf Records, Alligator Records Rumble Records
Associated acts Howlin' Wolf, James Cotton
Website Luther-Allison.com

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

Career

His big break came in 1957 when Howlin' Wolf invited Allison to the stage. Freddie King took him under his wing and after King got his big record deal, Allison took over King's house-band gig on Chicago's west side. He worked the club circuit throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s and recorded his first single in 1965. He was signed to the Delmark Records label in 1967 and released his debut album, Love Me Mama, the following year. A well-received set at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival resulted in his being asked to perform there each of the next three years.[2] He also toured nationwide and, in 1972, was signed to Motown Records, one of the few blues artists to do so.[3] By the mid 1970s he began touring Europe and moved to France in 1977.[3] Allison was known for his powerful concert performances, lengthy soulful guitar solos and crowd walking with his Gibson Les Paul. Allison lived briefly during this period in Peoria, Illinois, where he signed briefly with Rumble Records, resulting in 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 USA during this period, spending eight months per year in Europe at high-profile venues, including the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1992, he played as a duo with legendary French rock'n'roll star Johnny Hallyday for 18 shows in Paris, also playing during the intermission.

Allison's manager, and European agent, Thomas Ruf, founded the label 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 U.S. and Canada. He won four W.C. Handy Awards in 1994. With the James Solberg Band backing him, non-stop touring and the release of Blue Streak (featuring song "Cherry Red Wine"), Allison continued to earn more Handys and gain wider recognition. He scored a host of Living Blues Awards and was featured on the cover pages of major blues publications.

In the middle of his summer of 1997 tour, 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.[4] In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin.[2] 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.

He 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".[5] He was a chief influence on many young blues guitarists such as Chris Beard[6] and Reggie Sears.[7]

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 Red Lightnin' 0036, South Side Safari
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 Lets 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
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 1976-94
1997 Reckless Alligator 4849 Ruf 1012 in Europe
1999 Live in Chicago Alligator 4869 Ruf 1042 in Europe, recorded 1995-97, 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 1984-94
2007 Underground Ruf 1132 Recorded c. 1968
2009 Songs from the Road Ruf 1157 CD+DVD recorded in Montreal, 1997

[8] [9] [10] [11] [12]

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 DVD (2001)
2009 Songs from the Road Ruf 1157 CD+DVD recorded in Montreal, 1997

See also

References

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  5. ↑ [1][dead link]
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External links

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