Born: July 2, 1926, Pittsburg, KS Died: October 18, 1994, Los Angeles, CA Chuck Berry’s electric guitar, Earl Palmer’s propulsive drums and Lee Allen’s honking saxophone comprise the instrumental Holy Trinity of rock ‘n’ roll. Although not a Louisiana native, Allen’s session work with Little Richard, Fats Domino and Huey “Piano” Smith more than [...]
Tag Archives: rock n roll
Solomon Burke
July 1, 1997 – 12:01 am
Aretha may be the Queen of Soul and B.B. is the King of the Blues, but Solomon Burke’s moniker stuck in two genres. Crowned “The King of Rock and Soul” by a Baltimore disc jockey, Burke’s title has never been disputed—except by James Brown, but more on that later. Larger-than-life singer, bishop, mortician, and raconteur [...]
Dash Rip Rock: Still Smokin’
March 1, 1996 – 12:01 am
The scene: a hotel room in St. Louis the night before Thanksgiving. Dash Rip Rock’s new, fresh-faced young drummer, Kyle Melancon, is kicking back on a rare night off. He still hadn’t quite gotten over his good fortune. Just a few weeks ago, he was managing a record store in a shopping mall in New [...]
A Little Bit of Little Richard
June 1, 1993 – 12:01 am
It was a lovely May afternoon in Hollywood and Little Richard was in no mood to dwell on the past. No sooner was he on the line that he announced, “I was just telling Gloria [Boyce, Richard’s publicist] that I want to talk about now! Everybody wants to talk to you about yesterday. I want [...]
Lee Allen, If You Don’t, I Know Your Sister Will (NOLA Records)
November 1, 1991 – 12:01 am
Go tell your Aunt Mary and Uncle John the ultimate party album has come along. Lee Allen, the wailing sax man, is back with a brand new live LP. I had to run for the border and call my friend Little Richard in Hollywood, right from the OffBeat offices. This is what Richard Wayne Penniman [...]
