Luther Allison

Many people in various music circles consider Luther Allison (1939-1997) to be the Jimi Hendrix of the blues. Allison took a Chicago Blues skeletal frame and added his own interpretive embellishments of soul, reggae, jazz, funk and rock. Like Hendrix, Allison would lose himself in guitar mantras and often jam his shows out for up to four hours. In his youth, he was the second youngest of fifteen kids living in a house on the cotton fields of Widener, Arkansas. Allison played the organ in church and sang Gospel as a child. He grew up listening to the Grand Ole Opry and B.B. King on his father's radio, which inspired him to hang out in blues clubs during his teenage years. He befriended Charles Waters (son of Muddy) when he was eighteen. Before long, this friendship lead to a priceless musical education; Allison was soon sitting in with Muddy Waters, Elmore James, and Howlin' Wolf.