Luther Allison

Luther Allison (August 17 1939 — August 12 1997 [http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1996.html Dead Rock Stars website] ] ) was an American blues guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas and moved with his family, at age twelve, to Chicago, Illinois in 1951. He had taught himself guitar whilst in Arkansas and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he began hanging outside blues clubs with the hopes of being invited to perform. He played with Howlin' Wolf's band and backed up James Cotton.

Career

His big break came in 1957 when Muddy Waters invited Allison to the stage. 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 the following year his debut album "Love Me Mama" was released. He performed a set at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival and was invited to the next three consecutive festivals. He also toured nationwide and, in 1972, was signed to Motown Records, one of the few blues artists to do so. By the mid 1970s he began touring Europe, and moved to France in 1977. He would not return to the United States for another fifteen years. Allison was known for his lengthy concert performances, lengthy guitar solos and crowd walking with his Gibson Les Paul.

Allison's manager, and European agent, Thomas Ruf founded the label Ruf Records in 1994. Since signing with Ruf Records, Allison then 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 chest pains and breathing problems. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that was about to metastasize to his spine. In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin. [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:3ifyxq95ldje~T1 All Music Guide biography] ] 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". [ [http://209.85.135.104/search?q=cache:jbdWKEXXcL4J:findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20000604/ai_n13858293+%22bruce+springsteen+of+the+blues%22&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=6&gl=uk Chicago Sun-Times] ]

He is buried in Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois.

Discography

*1969 "Love Me Mama" (Delmark)
*1973 "Bad News Is Coming" (Motown)
*1974 "Luther's Blues" (Motown)
*1975 "Night Life" (Gordy)
*1977 "Love Me Papa" (Evidence)
*1979 "Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight" (Rumble)
*1979 "Power Wire Blues" (Charly)
*1979 "Live in Paris" (Platinum, re-released 2001 by Ruf Records)
*1979 "Live" (Blue Silver)
*1983 "Southside Safari" (M.I.L. Multimedia)
*1984 "Lets Have a Natural Ball" (JSP)
*1984 "Life Is a Bitch" (Encore!)
*1985 "Here I Come" (Encore!)
*1987 "Serious" (Blind Pig)
*1994 "Soul Fixin' Man" (Alligator)
*1994 "Bad Love" (Ruf Records)
*1995 "Blue Streak" (Alligator, Europe: Ruf Records)
*1995 "Time" (Buda)
*1996 "Rich Man" (Ruf Records)
*1996 "Live ’89" (Ruf Records)
*1996 "Rick Moon" (RFR)
*1996 "Live In Montreux" (Ruf Records)
*1997 "Reckless" (Alligator, Europe: Ruf Records)
*1999 "Live in Chicago" (Alligator, Europe: Ruf Records)
*2001 "Hand Me Down My Moonshine" (Ruf Records)
*2001 "Live In Paradise", DVD (Ruf Records)
*2002 "Pay It Forward" (Ruf Records)
*2003 "Standing at the Crossroads

ee also

*List of blues musicians
*List of Electric blues musicians
*List of Chicago blues musicians
*List of guitarists by genre
*List of notable brain tumor patients

References

External links

* [http://www.luther-allison.com/ Luther-Allison.com]
* [http://www.eljefe.net/LutherAllison.html Fansite mini-biography]