⬇️ LUTHER ALLISON ⬇️
DISCOGRAPHY 1972-2021 (54CD/DVD)
Luther Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) was an American blues
guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family,
at age twelve, to Chicago in 1951. 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.
His big break came in 1957 when Howlin' Wolf invited Allison to the stage. Freddie King took Allison 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.
Allison 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.
DISCOGRAPHY 1972-2021 (54CD/DVD)
BIOGRAPHY
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.
His big break came in 1957 when Howlin' Wolf invited Allison to the stage. Freddie King took Allison 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.
Allison 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.
He also toured nationwide and, in 1972, was signed to Motown Records, the
first and one of the few blues artists to do so. By the mid 1970s he began
touring Europe and moved to France in 1977. 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 in Peoria Illinois which resulted 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 8
months per year in Europe at high profile venues, including Montreaux Jazz
Festival.
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. Allison 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. Allison scored a host of
Living Blues Awards and was featured on the cover pages of major blues
publications.
He appeared at the 1995 San Francisco Blues Festival.
Allison covered "You Can't Always Get What You Want" for the 1997 Rolling
Stones' tribute album, Paint it Blue: Songs of the Rolling Stones.
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. In and out of a
coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday,
in Madison, Wisconsin. 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".
Allison is buried at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood,
Illinois. (Wikipedia)
NEW!
1970.08.29-Philadelphia Folk Festival @FLAC