Luther Sylvester Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997) | Urbanaspirines

Luther Allison: Blues Overdose

[8 CDs worth]

Kostas over at Urbanaspirines does his usual thorough job on a profile of blues legend Luther Alison

Check it out!

Luther Sylvester Allison (August 17, 1939 – August 12, 1997)

was an American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Widener, Arkansas, although some accounts suggest his actual place of birth was Mayflower, Arkansas. Allison was interested in music as a child and during the late 1940s he toured in a family gospel group called The Southern Travellers. He moved with his family to Chicago in 1951 and attended Farragut High School where he was classmates with Muddy Waters' son. He taught himself guitar and began listening to blues extensively. Three years later he dropped out of school and began hanging around outside blues nightclubs with the hopes of being invited to perform.

Allison was the 14th of 15 children, the son of cotton farmers. His parents moved to Chicago when he was in his early teens, but he had a solid awareness of blues before he left Arkansas, as he played organ in the church and learned to sing gospel in Widener as well. Allison recalled that his earliest awareness of blues came via the family radio in Arkansas, which his dad would play at night. Allison recalls listening to both the Grand Ole Opry and B.B. King on the King Biscuit Show on Memphis' WDIA. Although he was a talented baseball player and had begun to learn the shoemaking trade in Chicago after high school, it wasn't long before Allison began to focus more of his attention on playing blues guitar.

read on here . . . . .

this for Kostas , . . . . . . . . 

Luther Allison - Cherry Red Wine / Living in the House of the Blues  @ Bunkers 1997