Gene Allison
Gene Allison (born Versie Eugene Allison; August 29, 1934 – February 28, 2004) was an American R&B singer. Allison was born in Pegram, Tennessee, and he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee singing in the church choir with his brother Leevert. As a teenager, Allison was offered a chance to sing with The Fairfield Four and, later, The Skylarks. Record producer Ted Jarrett signed Allison to Calvert Records to record secular music; soon after Jarrett got a recording contract for him with Vee-Jay Records along with Larry Birdsong. Allison's debut single was "You Can Make It If You Try", written by Jarrett and released in 1957; it became a hit in the U.S., where it entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1958. Allison would go on to score two more hit singles at the end of the 1950s, and the success of "You Can Make It If You Try" allowed him to open a 24-hour soul food restaurant called Gene's Drive-In in Nashville. Allison continued to perform well beyond his brief period of fame. He died of kidney failure, in Nashville, at age 69 in February 2004. |
Birth and Death Data: Born August 29, 1934, Died February 28, 2004
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1957 - 1966
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Decca | 101182 | October 1966 | Somebody somewhere | Gene Allison | vocalist | |||
Decca | 101183 | October 1966 | You're my baby | Gene Allison | vocalist | |||
Decca | NA 9641 | 1/29/1957 | Hey, hey, hey, hey | Gene Allison | vocalist | |||
Decca | NA 9642 | 1/29/1957 | You can walk if you try | Gene Allison | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Allison, Gene," accessed November 23, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116276.
Allison, Gene. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 23, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/116276.
"Allison, Gene." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 23 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Allison, Gene - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/no99050618
Wikidata: Gene Allison - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q1501366
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/502149294341480521997
MusicBrainz: Gene Allison - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/38119a85-a2db-4fcd-93b0-63fe021aa550
ISNI: 0000 0001 1491 2148 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000114912148
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