Red Allen
American bluegrass musician
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Why Is Red Allen Influential?
(Suggest an Edit or Addition)According to Wikipedia, Harley Allen , better known as Red Allen, was an American bluegrass singer and guitarist known for his powerful tenor voice. Biography Allen, born in Pigeon Roost Hollow, near Hazard, Kentucky, grew up in the music-rich hills of eastern Kentucky, and following a stint in the Marines, settled in Dayton, Ohio, in 1949, where he began performing professionally. In 1952, Allen discovered a young teenage mandolin virtuoso named Frank Wakefield, who had moved to Dayton from Harriman, Tennessee. Soon Wakefield became a member of Allen's first band, the Blue Ridge Mountain Boys. The band also included the legendary Ohio 5-string banjo player Noah Crase. They worked the local bars along Dayton's Fifth Street as well as the rough blue collar taverns which made up the Ohio and Michigan bluegrass circuit at the time. Allen first came to broader public attention in 1956, when he joined the Osborne Brothers to fill out one of the most influential vocal trios in the history of country music. Allen made his first recordings with the Osborne Brothers on July 1, 1956, when they recorded four songs, including "Ruby," "Ho Honey Ho" and "Once More." "Once More" has been called a "landmark in three-part vocal harmony." The Osbornes and Red Allen were now featured cast members on the World's Original Jamboree radio show over WWVA in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1958, Allen left the group and returned to Dayton.
