Lee Francis Allen (July 2, 1927 – October 18, 1994) was an American

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (while ...

player. Phil Alvin, Allen's bandmate in The Blasters, called him one of the most important instrumentalists in rock'n'roll. Allen's distinctive tone has been hailed as "one of the defining sounds of rock'n'roll" and "one of the DNA strands of rock." Allen was a key figure in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...

era. He was semiretired from music by the late 1960s, but in the late 1970s returned to performing intermittently until the end of his life.

Biography

Allen was born in

Pittsburg, Kansas Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, Kansas, United States, located in southeast Kansas near the Missouri state border. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and southeast Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the population of the ci ...

, and raised largely in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. He played saxophone from his childhood. A combined athletics and music scholarship from

Xavier University Xavier University ( ) is a private Jesuit university in Cincinnati and Evanston (Cincinnati), Ohio. It is the sixth-oldest Catholic and fourth-oldest Jesuit university in the United States. Xavier has an undergraduate enrollment of 4,860 stud ...

led him to relocate to New Orleans in 1943. He fell into the city's thriving music scene, performing or recording with dozens of musicians in the early days of

and

rhythm and blues Rhythm and blues, frequently abbreviated as R&B or R'n'B, is a Music genre, genre of popular music that originated in African-American communities in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed p ...

. In 1947, he joined the Paul Gayten Band and later, the

Dave Bartholomew David Louis Bartholomew (December 24, 1918 – June 23, 2019) was an American musician, bandleader, composer, arranger, and record producer. He was prominent in the music of New Orleans throughout the second half of the 20th century. Originally ...

Band. Notable are his recordings with the singers

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

and Lloyd Price. Allen also was the sax soloist on most of Little Richard's epochal hits from 1955 and 1956.

Earl King Earl Silas Johnson IV (February 7, 1934 – April 17, 2003),
known as Earl King, was an American singer, guit ...

, whom Allen backed, recalled that Allen was "part of the wallpaper" at Cosimo Matassa's studio, and that Allen was on all the records by Huey "Piano" Smith. Allen and drummer Earl Palmer also backed Professor Longhair on many recordings. His own

instrumental An instrumental is a recording normally without any vocals, although it might include some inarticulate vocals, such as shouted backup vocals in a big band setting. Through semantic widening, a broader sense of the word song may refer to instr ...

, "Walkin' with Mr. Lee", released by Ember Records, was a minor hit in 1958, partly because it was frequently played on the television program ''

American Bandstand ''American Bandstand'', abbreviated ''AB'', is an American music-performance and dance television program that aired in various versions from 1952 to 1989, and was hosted from 1956 until its final season by Dick Clark, who also served as the pr ...

''. This and Allen's subsequent singles are collected on the album also called ''Walkin' with Mr. Lee''. By the mid-1960s, Allen found the city of New Orleans no longer the recording mecca it was for many years. So he soon followed Earl Palmer's lead and moved to southern California in 1965, performing only occasionally on tours with Fats Domino. He found work at an aircraft manufacturing plant by day and also fell easily into the thriving R & B scene by night. He formed an organ trio and performed with his close friends T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner. The 1972 album ''

Dr. John's Gumbo ''Dr. John's Gumbo'' released in 1972 is the fifth album by New Orleans singer and pianist Dr. John, a tribute to the music of his native city. The album is a collection of covers of New Orleans classics, played by a major figure in the city's ...

'' by Dr. John features Allen's sax work. He also appeared on albums by

Buddy Miles George Allen "Buddy" Miles Jr. (September 5, 1947February 26, 2008) was an American composer, drummer, guitarist, vocalist and producer. He was a founding member of the Electric Flag (1967), a member of Jimi Hendrix's Band of Gypsys (1969–1 ...

in this period. After the

rockabilly Rockabilly is one of the earliest styles of rock and roll music. It dates back to the early 1950s in the United States, especially the Southern United States, South. As a genre it blends the sound of Western music (North America), Western music ...

revival got going in the late 1970s, younger musicians sought Allen's distinctive saxophone. He recorded with the

Stray Cats Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York. The group had numerous hit singles ...

on their second album, ''Gonna Ball'' (1981). Allen was a mentor to and eventually a member of The Blasters. He recorded with the roots-rockers on all of their albums except for their debut, ''American Music''. The second and all subsequent releases from the band's original incarnation, on Slash/Warner Bros, featured him on tenor sax as well as Steve Berlin on baritone sax. Allen also toured with The Blasters during the early to mid-1980s. He is visible in the sequence featuring the band in '' Streets of Fire'' (1984). He remained a regular guest in later lineups. In October 1981, Allen played three shows with the

Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...

: on October 1 at the Metro Centre, in Rockford, Illinois, and on October 3 and 4 at

Folsom Field Folsom Field is an outdoor college football stadium in the Western United States, western United States, located on the campus of the University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado in Boulder, Colorado, Boulder. It is the home field ...

, in Boulder, Colorado. Allen continued to tour with Fats Domino into the 1990s. In late 1992, he took part in studio dates for what would be his final album: ''The Ultimate Session'', released by High Street/Windham Hill in 1994. The group of New Orleans all-stars featured Palmer,

Alvin Tyler Alvin Owen "Red" Tyler (December 5, 1925 – April 3, 1998) was an American R&B and neo-bop jazz saxophonist, composer and arranger, regarded as "one of the most important figures in New Orleans R&B". Biography Born and raised in New Orleans, Ty ...

, Dr. John, and

Allen Toussaint Allen Richard Toussaint (; January 14, 1938 – November 10, 2015) was an American musician, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was an influential figure in New Orleans rhythm and blues from the 1950s to the end of the century, describ ...

. Lee Allen died of lung cancer in 1994 at age 67. He was survived by his wife, Birdie, as well as five children from a previous marriage: Lee Jr., Patrick, Emmanuel, Aaron, and Karen. After Allen's death, Blasters member Dave Alvin dedicated the song "Mister Lee" (on the 1996 album ''

Interstate City ''Interstate City'' is a live album by American artist Dave Alvin and the Guilty Men, released in 1996. It was the group's first release and one of two the group released with Hightone records. Reception Writing for Allmusic, music critic Thom O ...

'') to his longtime friend and bandmate. Alvin noted that melody was Allen's passion, and that it was what separated him from less sophisticated honkers. Earl King added that whereas other saxophonists would get too jazzy, Allen had commercial appeal.

Partial discography

* "Chuggin'" b/w "Tic Toc", Lee Allen and His Band, Ember Records 7" E-1039X (Canada)

References

External links

Saxophone Solos: Lee Allen
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Lee 1927 births 1994 deaths American male saxophonists American rock saxophonists People from Pittsburg, Kansas Xavier University of Louisiana alumni The Blasters members 20th-century American saxophonists 20th-century American male musicians