Richard Allen (musician)
Howard Richard "Pistol" Allen (born August 13, 1932 in Memphis, Tennessee , † June 30, 2002 in Royal Oak (Michigan) ) was an African-American studio musician who spent most of his career as a drummer with Motown's Funk Brothers .
Career
His role models were the jazz drummers Buddy Rich and Max Roach . Allen met the jazz pianist Evans Bradshaw in his hometown of Memphis in late 1958 , who accepted him into his trio. On January 27, 1959, with the Evans Bradshaw Trio in New York, the LP Pieces of Eighty-Eight , on which Allen participated. Around 1960 he came to Detroit, where he played in jazz bars like the Flame Showbar . He was discovered by drummer Benny Benjamin in 1962 and hired by Berry Gordy as a session musician with the Funk Brothers. In addition to Allen, Benny Benjamin and Uriel Jones were drummers here .
He did not play - as is usual with drummers - on a drum set from a single manufacturer, but on a combination made up of Ludwig-Musser , Slingerland , Gretsch and Rogers. Allen introduced a new style of drums at Motown, the shuffle , which was often preferred by music producers Holland – Dozier – Holland . In particular, Allen has appeared on Motown hits such as (Love is Like a) Heat Wave (final mix June 20, 1963; Martha & the Vandellas ), The Way You Do the Things You Do (January 9, 1964; The Temptations ), Baby Love (August 13, 1964; Supremes ), Reach Out I'll Be There (July 27, 1966; Four Tops ), How Sweet It is (To Be Loved By You) (August 29, 1966; Jr. Walker & the All Stars) or I Heard It Through the Grapevine (April 10, 1967; Marvin Gaye ; all 3 drummers can be heard here).
As usual with Motown, he rarely played in foreign recording studios . On February 9, 1968 he recorded with Funk Brother colleague Dennis Coffey in the United Sound Studio in Detroit for Ben E. King 7 tracks. When Coffey recorded his instrumental single Scorpio in September 1971 , he chose Allen as drummer; it achieved million seller status.
Allen starred in the historical film Standing in the Shadows of Motown , but died 6 weeks after the film premiered on May 11, 2002. Allen died of cancer, leaving behind his wife and 10 children.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Tony Newton, Gold Thunder: A Legendary Adventures of a Motown Bassman , 2011, p. 48
- ^ Joseph Murrells, Million Selling Records , 1985, p. 321
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Allen, Richard |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Allen, Howard Richard (real name); Pistol (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American session drummer for Motown |
| DATE OF BIRTH | August 13, 1932 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Memphis, Tennessee , USA |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 30, 2002 |
| Place of death | Royal Oak (Michigan) , USA |