luther alison

[j.martin]

need facts on l. allison i.e.; likes and dislikesin such things as : was he a jazz lover was he married, his preferences in food, sports, any anecdotes that could be relevant..I am a music student at Mcgill university in Montreal and need these infos, for my master's research project
jamie martin

[sodafixer]

You need to start by spelling his name correctly, Luther Allison

[j.martin]

sorry sodafixer for the typo or not....? I see the name spelled Allison and Alison. But I still need the informations, I am doing a paper on musicians who have been overlooked, not given their dues, those who like Luther Allison worked hard all their lives,and whose recognition came too late or not all. Recognition here implies not necessarily the commercial aspect of the business, although this can be sweet to some extent, but respect among their peers. Too many blues or jazz musicians have perished in obscurity I know that first hand, as my father was one of them. Anyways...I need that type of information, so I can get a feel for the person, the man behind the music. The blues, gospels, rhythm and blues were his background, it goes without saying.....but where was his head when not playing, what other life experiences shaped him: for example I read that he was a father, was he a disciplinarian, a dreamer.... what did he enjoy besides music....?He seemed to have been a kind and generous man,....what else?

Jimie.Martin

[sodafixer]

Hi Jimmie....He has a son that is a blues musician also...his name is Bernard Allison....I would start by trying to interview him. Also...a man by the name Art Tipaldi...wrote a book called CHILDREN OF THE BLUES http://www.amazon.com/Children-Blues-Musicians-Generation-Tradition...
Luther and his son Bernard is on the cover....you can try contacting Art Tipaldi...iam sure he would love to help you,
Jeff (sodafixer)

[Remi]

Hey,
i am search Luther Allison - Lets Have a Natural Ball (1984)to buy!

We can help me?

Remi

[DuncanW]

Go on the INternet to: altavista.com ______ When the white bar comes on the screen, TYPE IN Luther Allison. __________ A page should then come UP where you will see MANY Luther Allison websites. Good Luck. DuncanW.

[bruce head]

I can tell you that Luther liked boxing. I ran into him at a drug store in Bloomington Indiana when he was killing time before his second nights performance. I said hi to him as an awe struck young fan having seen him for the first time the night before. He was nice and spoke a little bit about music and then showed me the magazine he was looking at. it was a boxing magazine. He said "This boxing is some cool shit" I was just in the beginning of becoming a die hard fan and i remember this first encounter like it was 35 seconds ago not 35 years ago. I also have read that he was a talented baseball player and was close to a minor league contract. I don't know about other music genres but years later i was able to speak with him and he told me his favorite guitar player was Otis Rush.
I agree with you he was overlooked. I personally always thought his early association with Motown somehow got him on the wrong foot with the blues elitist. This along with his age, being just a touch younger then the players that inspired the young rockers of the day had an effect of not giving him the credit he was due . I was in college totally immersed in the blues the first time i saw him in 1973. I can tell you that I had no idea who he was & nor did anyone in my circle of musician friends but he was a blues player so we went, and that night after his first song he got a "true standing ovation" from the entire club.
I saw Luther several times before he left for Europe where he did gain the fame and notoriety he was due. When he returned to the US a few old music buddies and I started doing road trips based on the places Luther was playing seeing 4 or 5 nights in a row . After showing up at so many places (I lost count) sitting at the front tables Luther and the band got to recognize us. I was able to have some conversations and get to know him a little bit. Speaking with him before the shows it was almost surreal how he would go from such a quiet soft spoken man to the dynamic & powerful persona he brought forth on stage. To me he was the best ever. Burning guitar soulful vocals and i believe a beautiful soul. Maybe his kind gentle spirit and his leave your ego behind mentality did not serve him well in gaining as much notoriety as he should have in the "Music Business" world.
To my tastes he was the best and certainly needs to be in ANY discussion of Blues Greats.