Randy McAllister is an American

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

and

Americana Americana may refer to: *Americana (music), a genre or style of American music *Americana (culture), artifacts of the culture of the United States Film, radio and television * ''Americana'' (1992 TV series), a documentary series presented by J ...

drummer, harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for his 2002 album, ''Givers and Takers''. ''

Living Blues ''Living Blues: The Magazine of the African American Blues Tradition'' is a bi-monthly magazine focused on blues music, and America's oldest blues periodical. The magazine was founded as a quarterly in Chicago in 1970 by Jim O'Neal and Amy van ...

'' noted that McAllister is a "first rate drummer, harmonica player and potently soulful singer. His well crafted songs reveal a depth of creativity not only in the storytelling, social commentary and word play, but also in the sophisticated arrangements and blurring of stylistic boundaries. With an expressive vocal register falling somewhere between the soulful effervescence of Al Green and the blunt hammer of Johnny Taylor, a shrewd wit and admirable turn of a phrase, McAllister cements himself as a blues bard archetype". To date he has released 13 albums. In concert, McAllister has been known to simultaneously sing, plays drums while barefoot, plus manage washboard and harmonica.

Life and career

Born in

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, Texas, United States, McAllister was raised in small-town Novice, Texas. He is a fifth generation Texan, whose father was a fireman and part-time blues drummer. The young McAllister purchased his first drum-kit for $40 having earned sufficient funds from mowing neighbor's lawns. By his early twenties, he graduated from the drums to playing the harmonica while stationed in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...

, when serving in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

. He finished his tour of duty and moved back to Texas in 1984. Having taken further advice and tuition from

Earring George Mayweather Earring George Mayweather (September 27, 1927 – February 12, 1995) was an American electric blues and Chicago blues harmonica player, songwriter and singer. He recorded only one solo album, but he played the harmonica on recordings by J. B. Hu ...

, McAllister relocated in 1989 to Alaska and spent three years playing in various local bands. He moved back to Texas in 1992, establishing a reputation as a harmonicist, vocalist and a songwriter. In the Dallas, Texas blues scene at that time, McAllister was compared by one author to a young

Charlie Musselwhite Charles Douglas Musselwhite (born January 31, 1944) is an American electric blues harmonica player and bandleader, one of the white bluesmen who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal f ...

. He became friends with Mike Morgan, Andrew "Jr. Boy" Jones and Robin Sylar. McAllister sometimes fronted Morgan’s band, The Crawl, both playing harmonica and singing. Through Jones affiliation with the British record label

JSP Records JSP Records is a British record label, founded in 1978 by John Stedman (John Stedman Promotions), releasing recordings by blues musicians such as Professor Longhair, Buddy Guy, Jimmy Witherspoon, Louisiana Red, Deitra Farr, Charlie Sayles, ...

, in 1997 McAllister signed his own recording contract and went on to release four albums with them. McAllister's debut album, ''Diggin' for Sofa Change'', was produced by Jones who also played guitar. McAllister's songwriting has been noted to contain heartbreak, humor, and tall tales. His trio of JSP releases were completed by ''Grease, Grit, Dirt & Spit'' (1998) and ''Double Rectified Bust Head'' (1999). Various other following albums were released through McAllister's own label, Freedom First Records. In June 2001, McAllister performed at Jazz in June in

Norman, Oklahoma Norman () is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, with a population of 128,097 as of 2021. It is the largest city and the county seat of Cleveland County, Oklahoma, Cleveland County, and the second-largest city in the Oklahoma C ...

. He was nominated for a

for his 2002 album, ''Givers and Takers''. In 2008, McAllister provided guitar work on Mike Morgan's album, ''Stronger Every Day'' (

Severn Records Severn Records is an American independent record label that concentrates on blues music. Its motto is "Roots Music for the 21st Century". History On July 11, 1997, a company named Echo Records was incorporated in Maryland by David Earl. By the t ...

). In 2013, McAllister issued ''Crappy Food No Sleep a Van & Some Great Songs'', which introduced his road band on disc for the first time. They are dubbed the Scrappiest Band in the Motherland. ''Gristle To Gold'' (2015) followed with a similar backing arrangement. ''Fistful of Gumption'' (2016) on Reaction Records was McAllister's 13th album. All but one of the tracks was written by McAllister, although the second track, "Time for the Sun to Rise," was penned by

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

. The final cut, "East Texas Scrapper," includes the prophetic lyrics "You can't outlast me / You can't wear me down / My super power is persistence / And I keep on sticking around."

Discography

References

External links

Official websiteDetails and videos of live performances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mcallister, Randy Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American blues singers American blues harmonica players American blues drummers Texas blues musicians Songwriters from Texas People from Coleman County, Texas Musicians from Dallas 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Americana musicians 20th-century American male singers 21st-century American male singers JSP Records artists American male songwriters