Show #160: Luther Allison at the Barrymore

Although he spent the last 13 years of his life living in France, bluesman Luther Allison had a summer home here in Madison. He died here on 12 August 1997 and a music venue, Luther's Blues, was named in his honor.


(Photo from Boarhunt Blues.)

For me, Allison's passing was a death knell of sorts for the blues here in Madison. It wasn't long, if memory serves, that Chicago blues artists slowly stopped appearing here. People like Lil' Ed and Lonnie Brooks no longer appeared at The Crystal Corner as they once did.

Luther Allison was born in Arkansas on 17 August 1939 but his family moved to Chicago when he was 12. They settled on the west side but soon moved to the south side where they ended up just a few blocks away from Muddy Waters. Allison would eventually play, not only with Muddy, but also giants like Howlin' Wolf and Elmore James.

His first solo album, Love Me Mama was released in 1969. As his career progressed, he found that his popularity in Europe far outweighed that here in the States and he eventually moved to France. He made a comeback, of sorts, when he signed to Chicago's Alligator Records just a few years before his death in 1994.

For a better bio, check out his entry at the Allmusic Guide.


(Photo found here.)

This week's show finds Luther Allison here in Madison performing his penultimate gig. The date was 10 July 1997. Six months before, he said, "I put out until they pull the plug"; earlier in the day, Allison was told he had inoperable lung cancer and metastatic brain tumors. Yet he took the stage that night at the Barrymore Theater. This is the first 50 or so minutes from that show.

Setlist:

Coming Home
Living In The House Of The Blues
What Have I Done Wrong
Standing In The Middle Of The Road
You Can
Bells Of Freedom

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Luther Allison

This is Allison performing "All the King's Horses" on TV in 1997. About the first two and a half minutes are interview.