New CD: UNDERGROUND out now!
Release Notes
The discovery and release of Luther Allison's 1958 debut recording represents a blues find that surfaces with all the excitement of some long forgotten historical document. After sitting for 50 years in the home of Luther's wife, Fannie Allison, Luther's son Bernard unearthed these monumental recordings to show the music world the portrait of this artist as a young man.
"I look at this as discovering something like Robert Johnson's lost songs," said Bernard. "I think a lot of Luther's fans are going to be so amazed with what he was playing at 18. This half hour is Luther Allison raw and pure. It's the birth of what was to come. You can hear the artist portraying what he was about to do."
Imagine it's 1958 and Luther Allison is 18 years old. He's playing guitar in a local Chicago blues band. The band leader, a more experienced 25 year old named Bobby Rush, had access to Wonderful Records' studio and offered Luther the opportunity to record. Unsure of himself, but with a burning intensity within, he and Bobby go in to the studio, cut songs, and cull about 30 minutes worthy to press onto a demo record. Then the record is joked about, stashed away and ignored until Luther's young son Bernard discovers the vinyl in his mother's effects. Prodigy like Ken Griffey Jr. learned their father's trade by sitting with him, absorbing lessons, and going onto the field to practice. Growing up in Peoria, Bernard's instructions from his dad Luther were condensed into one 30 minute record by Luther. This record wass Bernard's locker room.
"I learned everything note for note. When I was 12, I told him I learned guitar from this record," Bernard continued. "He told me that Underground was the first thing he ever recorded. Actually the first recording I did with Pops when I was 12. We did a live thing in Peoria, and we played "You Don't Love Me" from these recordings together. We played it exactly like the way it was on this Underground record."
Almost 50 years later, only Bobby Rush can shed light on this discovery. "Luther was about 18-19 years old," remembered Bobby. "He was playing in my band. I think it was probably the first band he'd ever played in. We got together and went down to Wonderful Records and just started fooling around with some songs and it just come out. We didn't know how good it was. It was just what went down. Luther was on guitar and singing, I was on the bass, and we had another bass player we called Mule also with us on bass. He was green in the studio and I was green as a producer. Back then I didn't know how to produce like I do now. But Luther believed in me and knew I could get it done.
"We were young and didn't have any money for the studio time. I worked out a deal with the guy who was running the studio for some time at night because we couldn't get it during the daytime and afford the day rate. I negotiated with Wonderful because I knew some of the people there," continued Bobby. "We just played off our stomachs. It wasn't any particular songs. We're just going in there to do what we would do on the bandstand at night. Cutting the kinds of things that we were playing for audiences every night. At that time, you just turned on the tape. If you were wrong, you didn't stop the tape. You had to live with what you had. We cut the thing in one take because we didn't have the money to do things better."Some of it was unfinished, some of it was OK and some wasn't. After Wonderful folded we didn't know what happened to the tapes from those recordings."
Bobby remembers Luther as an artist with huge potential, yet feeling self conscientious about emerging into the spotlight. "I kinda pushed him to do this. He was the kind of guy who'd be sayin' that he wasn't good enough to record. But I was always telling him that he had the talent to record and sing like everyone else," remembered Bobby. "I knew that he was talented, but he wasn't confident to do it. He said, 'Do you think I can pull this off?' and I just told him to go into the studio and play like B.B. or Freddie or Elmore. I encouraged him to do better then them cats. He was just as good or better on that day. Once he heard himself on the tape, he knew he could do it. By recording him, I could give him a shot like I had. I knew if I could let people I knew hear him that he could take it further then I could take it."
Though most of us knew Luther Allison as an energetic 50 year old whose four hour, non-stop shows were legendary, through this discovery, we can hear Luther as a hot blooded young gun, ready, like every invincible 18 year old, to take on the world. What do Bernard and Bobby hear in this back to the future vinyl. Bernard: "You definitely know it's Luther when you hear this. I hear a lot of where he was headed. Once I got to Europe and got into the band, I always told him to go back and listen because what he was playing at 18 was amazing. Musically, his guitar playing didn't change much. Over the years, it improved in that it's more consistent and he worked on his tone, but I hear where he was going." Bobby:"I could see when he was 17 what he would be at 50. I could foresee where he was going. The potential of a guy who's growing into something great. You can hear that it's raw Luther. It's not manufactured, it's him. He was doin' stuff off the top of his head, playin' whatever he felt. There are mistakes, but we lived with them. If I'd told him that some things he was doin' weren't right, he'd have lost confidence in himself. I tried to let him feel himself out and learn through his mistakes."
Like a Dick Waterman black and white photo from Newport, this is an important record of the non-Chess music that was popular in Chicago blues saloons. These werre the head cutting songs that guitarists like Otis Rush or Hound Dog Taylor or Freddie King took on new comers with. These were the songs Buddy Guy or Paul Butterfield might have heard in places like Sylvio's or Pepper's Lounge.
In this world of Youtube videos that capture children playing their first scales or cell phone cameras recording every human movement, we tend to forget how many careers in the past went undocumented. This vinyl turned digital captures a passionate voice from the past destined to become the soul of modern blues.
One researcher note. The first tune here is titled "Hide Away." Research shows that Freddie King took portions of "Hide Away" from Hound Dog Taylor instrumental and that King didn't record that song until 1960. Could this then be the first recorded version of "Hideaway"? Gentlemen, start your search engines.
Art Tipaldi is a Senior writer for Blues Revue and Blues Wax and also author of the book, Children of the Blues which profiles 49 blues musicians including Luther Allison, Bernard Allison, and Bobby Rush.
Tracklist
Hide Away
Don't Start ME Talking
Drivin' Wheel
Cut You Loose
Easy Baby
You're Gonna Miss Me
Take My Love
Rock Me Baby
RufRecords
The discovery and release of Luther Allison's 1958 debut recording represents a blues find that surfaces with all the excitement of some long forgotten historical document. After sitting for 50 years in the home of Luther's wife, Fannie Allison, Luther's son Bernard unearthed these monumental recordings to show the music world the portrait of this artist as a young man.
"I look at this as discovering something like Robert Johnson's lost songs," said Bernard. "I think a lot of Luther's fans are going to be so amazed with what he was playing at 18. This half hour is Luther Allison raw and pure. It's the birth of what was to come. You can hear the artist portraying what he was about to do."
Imagine it's 1958 and Luther Allison is 18 years old. He's playing guitar in a local Chicago blues band. The band leader, a more experienced 25 year old named Bobby Rush, had access to Wonderful Records' studio and offered Luther the opportunity to record. Unsure of himself, but with a burning intensity within, he and Bobby go in to the studio, cut songs, and cull about 30 minutes worthy to press onto a demo record. Then the record is joked about, stashed away and ignored until Luther's young son Bernard discovers the vinyl in his mother's effects. Prodigy like Ken Griffey Jr. learned their father's trade by sitting with him, absorbing lessons, and going onto the field to practice. Growing up in Peoria, Bernard's instructions from his dad Luther were condensed into one 30 minute record by Luther. This record wass Bernard's locker room.
"I learned everything note for note. When I was 12, I told him I learned guitar from this record," Bernard continued. "He told me that Underground was the first thing he ever recorded. Actually the first recording I did with Pops when I was 12. We did a live thing in Peoria, and we played "You Don't Love Me" from these recordings together. We played it exactly like the way it was on this Underground record."
Almost 50 years later, only Bobby Rush can shed light on this discovery. "Luther was about 18-19 years old," remembered Bobby. "He was playing in my band. I think it was probably the first band he'd ever played in. We got together and went down to Wonderful Records and just started fooling around with some songs and it just come out. We didn't know how good it was. It was just what went down. Luther was on guitar and singing, I was on the bass, and we had another bass player we called Mule also with us on bass. He was green in the studio and I was green as a producer. Back then I didn't know how to produce like I do now. But Luther believed in me and knew I could get it done.
"We were young and didn't have any money for the studio time. I worked out a deal with the guy who was running the studio for some time at night because we couldn't get it during the daytime and afford the day rate. I negotiated with Wonderful because I knew some of the people there," continued Bobby. "We just played off our stomachs. It wasn't any particular songs. We're just going in there to do what we would do on the bandstand at night. Cutting the kinds of things that we were playing for audiences every night. At that time, you just turned on the tape. If you were wrong, you didn't stop the tape. You had to live with what you had. We cut the thing in one take because we didn't have the money to do things better."Some of it was unfinished, some of it was OK and some wasn't. After Wonderful folded we didn't know what happened to the tapes from those recordings."
Bobby remembers Luther as an artist with huge potential, yet feeling self conscientious about emerging into the spotlight. "I kinda pushed him to do this. He was the kind of guy who'd be sayin' that he wasn't good enough to record. But I was always telling him that he had the talent to record and sing like everyone else," remembered Bobby. "I knew that he was talented, but he wasn't confident to do it. He said, 'Do you think I can pull this off?' and I just told him to go into the studio and play like B.B. or Freddie or Elmore. I encouraged him to do better then them cats. He was just as good or better on that day. Once he heard himself on the tape, he knew he could do it. By recording him, I could give him a shot like I had. I knew if I could let people I knew hear him that he could take it further then I could take it."
Though most of us knew Luther Allison as an energetic 50 year old whose four hour, non-stop shows were legendary, through this discovery, we can hear Luther as a hot blooded young gun, ready, like every invincible 18 year old, to take on the world. What do Bernard and Bobby hear in this back to the future vinyl. Bernard: "You definitely know it's Luther when you hear this. I hear a lot of where he was headed. Once I got to Europe and got into the band, I always told him to go back and listen because what he was playing at 18 was amazing. Musically, his guitar playing didn't change much. Over the years, it improved in that it's more consistent and he worked on his tone, but I hear where he was going." Bobby:"I could see when he was 17 what he would be at 50. I could foresee where he was going. The potential of a guy who's growing into something great. You can hear that it's raw Luther. It's not manufactured, it's him. He was doin' stuff off the top of his head, playin' whatever he felt. There are mistakes, but we lived with them. If I'd told him that some things he was doin' weren't right, he'd have lost confidence in himself. I tried to let him feel himself out and learn through his mistakes."
Like a Dick Waterman black and white photo from Newport, this is an important record of the non-Chess music that was popular in Chicago blues saloons. These werre the head cutting songs that guitarists like Otis Rush or Hound Dog Taylor or Freddie King took on new comers with. These were the songs Buddy Guy or Paul Butterfield might have heard in places like Sylvio's or Pepper's Lounge.
In this world of Youtube videos that capture children playing their first scales or cell phone cameras recording every human movement, we tend to forget how many careers in the past went undocumented. This vinyl turned digital captures a passionate voice from the past destined to become the soul of modern blues.
One researcher note. The first tune here is titled "Hide Away." Research shows that Freddie King took portions of "Hide Away" from Hound Dog Taylor instrumental and that King didn't record that song until 1960. Could this then be the first recorded version of "Hideaway"? Gentlemen, start your search engines.
Art Tipaldi is a Senior writer for Blues Revue and Blues Wax and also author of the book, Children of the Blues which profiles 49 blues musicians including Luther Allison, Bernard Allison, and Bobby Rush.
Tracklist
Hide Away
Don't Start ME Talking
Drivin' Wheel
Cut You Loose
Easy Baby
You're Gonna Miss Me
Take My Love
Rock Me Baby
RufRecords
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Petra on
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New information about this historical Luther Allison recording continues to surface! The year of recording - according to producer Bobby Rush in 1958- has been disputed. These recordings have most likely not been taped before 1967/68.
More information on RufRecords.de: http://www.rufrecords.de/catalogue/1132_luther-allison_underground....
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Permalink Reply by colin skilton on -
Wow this is like finding a rare car in your garage! I can't wait to see what it sounds like and buying the record.
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Permalink Reply by colin skilton on
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Wow this is like finding a rare car in your garage! Its always good to hear what someone as inspiration as Luther still is started out playing. I should imagine this will sell very well indeed, l have ordered my copy already.
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