Jesse Allen born 25 September 1925

Jesse Allen (25, September, 1925 – 14, September, 1976) was an American rhythm & blues guitarist and vocalist. 

Jesse Allen remains one of New Orleans’ “Great Unknowns”, and his entire recording career is believed to be encapsulated in twenty tracks. Yet the quality of these sides is so impressive that you can’t help wondering (a) why he didn’t register hits, and (b) how come he didn’t cut more records. In particular, powerful discs like ‘Rockin’ and Rollin’’ and ‘Love You Baby’ b/w ‘After A While’ have become highly-touted collectors’ items. 

For many years very little was known about Allen - even from where he’d originated - and the various written articles and sleevenotes about him were largely conjecture. But in the Internet era his daughter Joanne contacted the bebopwino.blogspot.com website, after they’d done a track-by-track analysis of a collectors’ LP, and was able to correct several factoids and fill in some of the gaps. 

Jesse Leroy Allen was born in Tallahassee, Florida. He joined the Navy at a young age and developed a love for music and singing. He never learned to read music but was a self taught guitarist, playing by ear and learning licks from fellow musicians as he picked up work in small time clubs and bars starting in Dade and Broward counties, Florida. Over the years his club work would take him and his family to Amarillo, Texas, where he also deejayed on a small local radio. The family then moved to New Mexico and even to White Plains, New York. 

He had a strong singing voice suited to both slow blues and rocking numbers. His first recording session was for Aladdin Records in New Orleans on October 13th, 1951. This was in fact the first New Orleans session held by the LA based label.  “Gonna Move away From Town” and “Rock This Morning” were reviewed in Billboard on the 26th April, 1952. The two other sides recorded at the session, “Shake ‘em up Baby” and “Boogie Woogie Mama,” were not released. “Gonna Move Away From Town b/w Rock This Morning” was not the first Jesse Allen single to be released. On December 8th, 1951 he recorded two sides for the Coral label: “My Suffering” and “Let’s Party” which were released on Coral 65078 at the beginning of February 1952. 

                                   

After Aladdin, Jesse’s next recording session was for Bayou, a subsidiary of Lew Chudd’s Imperial label. Supervised by Dave Bartholomew in New Orleans, the session (probably held in 1952 or early 1953) yielded the single “Dragnet b/w Take It Easy.” In August 1953, Jesse Allen had his first recording session for Imperial. He recorded four duets with Audrey Walker, two of which were released. Although the disc with Audrey Walker failed to sell, Imperial had enough faith in Jesse Allen to call him back to the studio for a solo recording session in early 1954. Backed by a lineup of New Orleans’ finest session musicians, Jesse cut four sides. Neither of Jesse’s releases did okay in the coin boxes or anywhere else. However, despite the lack of sales Imperial persevered with Jesse. He was back in the New Orleans recording studio on September 18th 1954 to cut “Rockin’ and Rollin’” and “I Love You So.” 

Jesse didn’t record again until 1958. This time round he cut two sides for Johnny Vincent’s Vin label, backed again by Lee Allen and Red Tyler on saxes with James Booker on piano and Roland Cook on bass. Jesse’s last recordings were made for the Jimmy Liggins owned Duplex label which released occasional R&B and soul records.. He cut two sides in Fayetteville, Tennessee in 1959. Released on Duplex 9003, “Love You Baby” (aka “Love Me Baby”) and “After A While” were wild blues rockers with screaming vocals and clanging guitar. 

Red Bird Cafe, Tallahassee

He continued to play the bars, clubs and juke joints. He and his family moved around to wherever his music career took him. In the early 1960s he was in Amarillo, Texas, then in 1964 he was back in Tallahassee. In 1965 he was in White Plains, New York before moving to Miami in 1966/7 where he stayed for the rest of his life. He developed heart complications and passed away in Miami on the 14th of September, 1976. Almost up until his death he was still working in clubs in Florida, in Perrine, in Midway (the Club 40) and in Tallahassee (the Red Bird Café). 

However, music was not his most important or most lasting legacy. He is survived by one daughter, eight grandchildren, twenty-three great grandchildren and one great-great granddaughter.

(Edited from Be Bop Wino & Jasmine) (I could not find any other photographs of Jesse via the usual search engines, hence the record scans)