Tony Allen

Tony Allen is one of the real characters in Los Angeles R&B. He recorded extensively, for dozens of labels, throughout the 1950s and 1960s. Allen grew up in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, not far from Fats Domino's house so where he would often go over and watch him play, who became his  inspiration. His father was a butcher and his mother once played saxophone in her brothers The Sweethearts of Rhythm group who also owned the Dew Drop Inn, one of New Orleans' top R&B clubs in the 1940s and 50s.

During the Second World War Tony went to live with his aunt in Los Angeles and first attended George Washington Carver High school with classmates Arthur Lee Maya and Eugene Church. He later attended Jefferson High "I learned to play piano in church when I was six and my friends used to call me sissy when they'd see me practicing, but I was determined to find my way in music someday and I recorded my first record when he was 14 in Austin McCoy's backyard studio which was "Angel Child"/"Check Yourself" in 1952."(Said Allen) "Check Yourself" was reissued in 1955, first on Ultra than later repressed on Dig (Johnny Otis's label). Tony's second record became his biggest seller.

Tony Allen, Gaynel Hodge and Eugene Church

Jesse Belvin, another high school acquaintance, introduced him to Bumps Blackwell at Specialty Records in 1955. "Night Owl was a nick name my aunt had given me because I was always staying out late at night. I turned that phrase into a little song and recorded it "Night Owl"/"I" for Specialty Records on July 4, 1955, at Master Recorders in Hollywood on with The Chimes singing behind me, even though they were billed on the record as The Champs. The Chimes backed everybody on Specialty. They were Charles Jackson, David Cobb, Pookie Whooten and John Talbert" Said Allen. The label for that record got mixed up at the pressing plant. Record Deejays thought they were playing "I" (the intended A-side), but heard "Night Owl" instead and liked it. Although it did not chart nationally, "Night Owl" was a big West Coast hit, enough to assure his local immortality. Another mistake was the billing on the label, which read "Tony Allen with the Champs". This had nothing to do with the "Tequila" group, which did not even exist yet at the time. It should have read "Tony Allen with the Chimes".

Tony Allen, Richard Berry, Gaynel Hodge and Eugene Church

Allen's second Specialty single, "Check Yourself Baby"/"Especially" was less successful. Allen than went on the road with many of Specialty's top acts, including Little Richard, Larry Williams and Lloyd Price. After Specialty, Allen recorded for too many labels to mention. From 1957-58 Tony recorded some excellent rockers, with accompaniment by top session men like Rene Hall, Plas Johnson and Earl Palmer : "Holy Smoke Baby" and "Now You Tell Me" (the latter credited to the Cupids) on Aladdin, "Strange Talk" and ") on Dot. For some reason Rockin' Shoes" and "Skinny Minnie" on Imperial were relegated to B-side status. Later releases on Jamie, Kent, Original Sound, and Bethlehem etc. were not up to the same standard. Allen had an LP release in 1961 on the budget label Crown, titled "Rock 'n' Roll with Tony Allen". Tony can still be found performing at various oldie revival shows in Los Angeles.

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