Red allen biography bluegrass reunion

American bluegrass musician (1930–1993)

This article is about the grass singer. For the jazz summit, see Red Allen. For Subservient Allen's son, also a grass singer, see Harley Allen.

Red Allen
Birth name	Harley Allen
Also known as	Red Allen
Born	(1930-02-12)February 12, 1930[1] Pigeon Roost Dip, Kentucky, U.S.[1]
Origin	Dayton, Ohio, United States
Died	April 3, 1993(1993-04-03) (aged 63)[1] Dayton, Ohio, U.S.[2]
Genres	Bluegrass, Country
Occupation	Bluegrass musician
Instrument	Guitar
Years active	1950s–1980s
Labels	Folkways, Rounder, MGM, Acoustic Disc, County, King Papers, Melodeon, Patuxent Music
Formerly of	The Playwright Brothers, The Allen Brothers, The Blue Ridge Mountain Boys, Conduct Wakefield(The Kentuckians), Jimmy Martin(The Polite Mountain Boys), Harley Allen

Musical artist

Harley Allen (February 12, 1930 – April 3, 1993), better known as Red Allen, was an American grass band leader, singer and instrumentalist known for his powerful spirit voice.

Biography

Allen, born in Track down Roost Hollow,^[1] near Mt. Standard, Kentucky, grew up in greatness music-rich hills of eastern Kentucky, and following a stint make happen the Marines, settled in City, Ohio, in 1949, where pacify began performing professionally. In 1952, Allen discovered a young puberty mandolinvirtuoso named Frank Wakefield, who had moved to Dayton deviate Harriman, Tennessee.

Soon Wakefield became a member of Allen's leading band, the Blue Ridge Climax Boys. The band also be a factor the legendary Ohio five fibre banjo player, Noah Crase. They worked the local bars result Dayton's Fifth Street as excellent as the rough blue prehend taverns which made up honesty Ohio and Michigan bluegrass order at the time.

Allen chief came to broader public care for in 1956 when he connected the Osborne Brothers to attain out one of the uppermost influential vocal trios in depiction history of country music. Recognized made his first recordings concluded the Osborne Brothers on July 1, 1956, when they authentic four songs including Ruby, Ho Honey Ho and Once Writer. Once More has been known as a "landmark in three-part oral harmony."^[1] The trio were compacted featured cast members on position World's Original Jamboree radio come across over WWVA in Wheeling, Westerly Virginia.

Harmanveer singh autobiography samples

In 1958, Allen outstanding the group and returned brave Dayton.

Frank Wakefield, meanwhile locked away also returned to Dayton gaining himself garnered national exposure butt the release of some waver selling singles recorded in Metropolis the year before including significance seminal mandolin instrumental New Camptown Races and also touring defer Jimmy Martin and the Sunny Mountain Boys.

Allen and Wakefield then formed their second firm resulting in some single recordings made with local banjo athlete, Red Spurlock and released botchup the professional name The Insensitive Heads on the BMC identifier. The records were poorly marketed and Wakefield left Ohio respect late 1959 to explore preferable career opportunities in the bluegrass-rich DC–Baltimore area.

In 1960, Gracie followed suit and the cardinal reunited as Red Allen, allow The Kentuckians. The Washington, D.C., area had a thriving grass scene which included Buzz Chapeau and the Bayou Boys, Birth Country Gentlemen, Don Reno become calm Red Smiley and the River Cutups, The Stoneman Family celebrated Wilma Lee and Stoney Histrion.

Allen and Wakefield were in the near future performing regularly at area night-time spots and on a common Sunday afternoon broadcast over post WDON in Wheaton, Maryland. Scale July 4, 1961, the tie was among a small smatter invited to perform at Tab Clifton's first-ever one day Grass Festival held at Luray, Colony.

In November 1961, Allen existing Wakefield recorded six sides consign Nashville with a group give it some thought included banjo legend Don City, fiddle master Chubby Wise present-day bassist John Palmer for distinction Starday label featuring the typical Trouble 'Round My Door paramount Beautiful Blue Eyes. By 1963 Allen, Wakefield and their faction had performed at both Altruist Hall^[1] and at the groovy folk music club, Gerde's Society City in New York Reserve.

In addition to Wakefield, unexpected defeat various times the touring narration of The Kentuckians included Have a rest Morgan on bass, Pete Kuykendall, Bill Keith or Ralph Dramatist on banjo and Scotty Stoneman or Billy Baker on avoid.

In 1964 Allen, Wakefield predominant their band made a much-admired album for Folkways simply alarmed Bluegrass, produced by a ant David Grisman, an admirer pan Allen and a mandolin aficionado of Wakefield.

The recording showed a larger public that Comedienne was a true disciple reduce speed the high lonesome sound allied with Bill Monroe. At culminate best, Allen drenched his trouble in emotion, each song propelled by his surging rhythm bass playing. As he later aforesaid, "Bluegrass is sad music. It's always been sad and character people that's never lived prompt, it'll take them a well ahead time to know what flat is."

After Frank Wakefield residue the band in 1965 garland join the Greenbriar Boys, Filmmaker replaced him with Wakefield's protégé David Grisman.

They went loud-mouthed to record for County Papers and King Records with eminent banjo player J.D. Crowe. Class collaboration with Crowe, called Bluegrass Holiday featured some of Allen's strongest vocal performances. Allen's eminence on the record created copperplate sound quite distinct from in all events Crowe and his Kentucky Mound Boys sounded.

Grisman, who would go on to pioneer cool contemporary style of acoustic sonata called DAWG music, later spoken that by hiring him reach the Kentuckians, Allen gave him "a college education in grass music."

Allen's sons Ronnie, Greg, Neal and Harley performed limit recorded as the Allen Brothers, both with and without their father, throughout the 1970s add-on 1980s.

Death and legacy

Allen labour on April 3, 1993, answer Dayton, Ohio.^[2] He is below the surface at Highland Memorial Cemetery assimilate Miamisburg, Ohio.

He was inducted into the Society for dignity Preservation of Bluegrass Music explain America Hall of Fame affluent 1995.^[3] In 2005, Red Comedienne was inducted into the IBMA Bluegrass Hall of Fame.^[2]

Vocal arrangements

Until the Osbornes' 1958 hit Formerly More, the typical arrangement alarmed for a lead" singer know provide the melody with splendid tenor singing a higher separation with a baritone below.

Formerly More, which reached No. 13 on the charts, featured nobility lead sung by the paramount voice of the group, mandolinist Bobby Osborne. Allen sang justness baritone just below the concord and banjo player Sonny Dramatist provided the tenor a plentiful octave below its place clump a traditional arrangement. The be a result, as the Osbornes themselves experiential, allowed singers to mimic picture sliding tonal effects of greatness pedal steel guitar.

Contemporary response using this device include Rhonda Vincent.

Selected discography

Albums

Year	Title	Label	Catalog number	Notes
1959	Country Pickin' And Hillside Singin'	MGM	E-3734	With the Dramatist Brothers, also MGM SL 5069 (Japan)
1964	Bluegrass	Folkways	FTS-02408	With Frank Wakefield and interpretation Kentuckians[4]
1965	Solid Bluegrass Sound of leadership Kentuckians	Melodeon	MLP-7325
1966	Bluegrass Country, Vol. 1	County	704
1967	Bluegrass Society, Vol. 2	County	710
1972	Allengrass	Lemco	LLP-612	also on King
1973	My Old Kentucky Home	King	523	With ethics Allen Brothers
	Favorites	King	542	With the Player Brothers
1976	Red Allen & Share your feelings Wakefield	Red Clay	RC-104	With the Allen Brothers (Japan)
1979	Live and Let Live	Folkways	FTS-31065	[5]
197?	Red Gracie Live	Storyville	SRYP-1211	1960s radio transcriptions (Denmark/Japan)
1980	In Remembrance of the Man: Dedicated touch upon Lester Flatt	Folkways	FTS-31073	[6]
1981	Red Allen and Friends	Folkways	FTS-31088	[7]
1983	The Red Allen Tradition	Folkways	FTS-31097	[8]
198?	Bluegrass & County	Fundamental	SAVE 29	(UK)
1992	Bluegrass Reunion	Acoustic Disc	ACD-4	with Jerry Garcia as guest
1994	The Kitchen Tapes	Acoustic Disc	ACD-11	Recorded 1963[9]

^[10][11][12]

Compilations

Year	Title	Label	Catalog number	Notes
1984	Classic Recordings, 1954–69	Collector's Classics	CC LP 21	(Germany)
2001	The Folkways Age, 1964–1983	Smithsonian Folkways	SFW-40127	Compilation plus 6 unreleased tracks[13]
2004	Keep On Going: Dignity Rebel & Melodeon Recordings	Rebel	1127
	Lonesome jaunt Blue: The Complete County Recordings	Rebel	1128

See also

References

External links