Versie Eugene Allison (August 29, 1934[1] – February 28, 2004)[2] 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.[1] 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.,[1] 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,[1] 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.[3] Allison continued to perform well beyond his brief period of fame. He died of kidney failure, in Nashville, at age 69 in February 2004.[3]
Singles
edit| Year | Title | Chart Positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Pop | U.S. R&B | ||
| 1958 | "You Can Make It If You Try" | 36 | 3 |
| 1958 | "Everything Will Be Alright" | - | 19 |
| 1958 | "Have Faith" | 73 | 11 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Colin Larkin, ed. (1993). The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 9. ISBN 0-85112-733-9.
- ^ Sweetland, Phil (14 March 2004). "Gene Allison, 69, Soul Singer Who Fused Sacred to Secular". The New York Times. Retrieved June 30, 2021.
- ^ a b Biography, AllMusic
External links
edit- Gene Allison discography at Discogs
