Born
in Widener, Arkansas in 1939, Luther Allison (the 14th of 15 musically
gifted children) first connected to the blues at age ten, when he began
playing the diddley bow (a wire attached by nails to a wall with rocks for
bridges and a bottle to fret the wire). His family migrated to Chicago in
1951, and Luther began soaking in the sounds of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy
Williamson, and Robert Nighthawk. He was classmates with Muddy Waters' son
and occasionally stopped in the Waters' house to watch the master
rehearse. It wasn't until he was 18 already in Chicago for seven years
that Luther began playing blues on a real guitar and
jamming with his brother Ollie's band.
By 1957, Allison had dropped out of school and formed a band called The
Rolling Stones. Unhappy with the name, they became The Four Jivers,
gigging all over the West Side of Chicago. Before long, Luther was jamming
with the West Side's best, including Magic Sam, Otis Rush, and Freddie
King, who encouraged Allison to sing. "That," said Allison,
"was my school." When King began to tour nationally in the early
1960s, Allison took over King's band as well as his weekly gigs at
Walton's Corner and became one of the hottest acts on the West Side. For
five years, Allison honed his craft. He moved to California for a year and
cut sides with fellow Chicagoans Shakey Jake Harris and Sunnyland Slim. He
cut his first two songs as a leader on the now-classic Delmark anthology,
Sweet Home Chicago, before releasing his first solo album (also on Delmark),
Love Me Mama , a record of hard-hitting blues that spoke to the growing
rock audience. But even before his debut album came out, Luther landed a
headlining spot at the influential Ann Arbor Blues Festival in 1969, and
went from relative unknown to major blues-rock attraction. "His
guitar riffs seemed to defy the possible," raved John Fishel, the
program director of the festival, who brought Allison back to perform at
the following two festivals.
Allison
signed with Motown Records in 1972 as the label's only blues act. His
three records for the Gordy subsidiary led to numerous concert dates and
both national and international festival appearances, but domestically,
interest in the blues was fading. After finding instant acceptance in
Europe, he was convinced that Paris was the place to be. While he gained
superstar status in Europe and released a dozen European records, his
presence in the American music scene diminished.
With the release of Soul Fixin' Man in 1994, Allison's first domestic
album in 20 years, he announced his return. "Fever and chills
performances," said Guitar Player, "ferocious solos combine the
wisdom of a master storyteller with the elegance of B.B. King, the
elasticity of Buddy Guy, and the big sting of Albert King." After
three mammoth U.S. tours, America once again was paying attention to
Luther Allison. Allison followed up with Blue Streak, and the praise and
accolades poured in. "A sonic roar as soulful as his gospel-shout
vocals," raved the Washington Post. "Luther Allison's latest is
nothing short of a masterpiece by a master," reported Blues Revue.
Continued touring brought Allison before raving fans around the world, as
he brought his band from the San Francisco Blues Festival to New York's
Central Park Summerstage, with all stops in between. With Reckless,
Allison reached even greater heights. Guitar World said, "Reckless in
the best sense of the word, dancing on a razor's edge, remaining just this
side of out-of-control. Hard-driving, piercing West Side Chicago
single-note leads with a soul base and a rock edge."
Throughout it all, Allison delivered one show-stopping performance after
another. His boundless energy and fierce guitar attack combined to make
him a blues superstar who reached rock fans like no bluesmen since Freddie
King and Albert Collins. When the news broke that Allison had been
diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in July of 1997, the blues world was
shocked. When he died just four weeks later, they were devastated. Without
a doubt, Luther Allison's death robbed music fans of one of the most
exciting and popular blues performers ever. With Live In Chicago, Allison
lives on, as he tears through the songs with the single-minded desire to
give everything he has to his audience. While listening to the album, fans
can immerse themselves in the explosive power of Luther Allison's music
and experience the redemptive force of his legendary performance
ALBUMS
1969 Love Me Mama Delmark 625 1972 Bad News Is Coming Motown/Gordy 964 1974 Luther's Blues Motown/Gordy 967 1976 Night Life Motown/Gordy 974 1977 Love Me Papa Black & Blue 33.524 reissued as Estudio Eldorado 524 (Brazil) and Evidence CD 26015 (U.S.) 1979 Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight! Rumble 1001 recorded live in Peoria, Illinois on April 18-19, 1979. reissued as Red Lightnin' 0036, South Side Safari 1979 Power Wire Blues Rumble 1004 part 2 of the Peoria concert. reissued 1985 as Charly 1105 1979 Live in Paris Paris Album/Buda 2-28501 recorded in Paris, La Chapelle Des Lombards, 1979. Also issued as Ruf 1354, Free Bird 209/FLY06, Pläne 88295, Platinum 161354 1979 Live Blue Silver 3001/3321 part 2 of the 1979 Paris concert. also on Blue Sky/Buda 1980 Time Paris Album/Buda 2-28505 1984 Lets Have a Natural Ball JSP 1077 1984 Life is a Bitch Encore!/Melodie 131 Blind Pig 2287 (1987) in the U.S., retitled Serious 1985 Here I Come Encore!/Melodie 133 1987 Rich Man Ruf 8001 also RFR 1005, Charly CRB 1227 1991 More from Berlin East West LACD 1991-2 live, 1989 1994 Soul Fixin' Man Alligator 4820 Ruf 1021 in Europe, retitled Bad Love 1995 Blue Streak Alligator 4834 Ruf 7712 in Europe 1996 Live ’89: Let's Try It Again Ruf 1028 recorded in Berlin, May 1989 1996 Live in Montreux - Where Have You Been? Ruf 1008 recorded 1976-1994 1997 Reckless Alligator 4849 Ruf 1012 in Europe 1999 Live in Chicago Alligator 4869 Ruf 1042 in Europe, recorded 1995-97, 2-disc set 1994 Hand Me Down My Moonshine Inak/Ruf 1047 acoustic 2002 Pay It Forward Ruf 1060 recorded 1984-1994 1999 Standing at the Crossroad Black & Blue 421.1 recorded 1977 in Paris. also Night & Day 210, Blues Reference 2007 Underground Ruf 1132 recorded c. 1968 2009 Songs from the Road Ruf 1157 CD+DVD recorded in Montreal, 1997
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