Luther Allison broke onto the national blues scene as the hot young up-and-comer from Chicago in 1969, so highly touted that he even scored a contract with Motown in 1973 — almost unheard-of for a bluesman in an era when funk and soul dominated black music. Allison had plenty of funk and soul in his blues, however, and added a heavier touch of rock guitar over the years.
Born in Widener, Arkansas, on Aug. 17, 1939, Allison came up on Chicago’s West and South sides, working as a sideman before forming his own band to back his B.B. King-influenced blues. Peoria, Illinois, and Madison, Wisconsin, were other bases for his career at different times. Allison made his recording debut on Delmark Records, worked the blues circuit for a few years, and made big news when he signed to record three albums for Motown’s Gordy subsidiary.
But predictions of crossover stardom failed to materialize. His career in the U.S. stalled, and he moved to France in 1984 to build on his already-substantial European blues-rock following. A decade later, he finally began to achieve some measure of the success he had long sought after he returned home and hit his stride with a series of albums for Alligator. With marketing and promotion behind him, his crowd-pleasing, high-energy live show and winsome personality made him a favorite with festival audiences, as well as a multiple Handy Award winner. Allison made his mark on the blues, but all too suddenly it was over: he was diagnosed with cancer in July of 1997 and passed away on August 12, at the age of 57. He left his legacy in capable hands, however, as his son Bernard Allison has continued to attack the blues with the same kind of spirit that drove his father.
— Jim O’Neal
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