The name usually invokes a certain African master drummer, but this Tony Allen was a high-voltage West Coast R&B/doo wop singer who shot himself in the foot at an early stage of his career and never fully recovered. The mis-step resulted in a stream of releases on labels of the day, which now sound pretty good gathered under one roof and given the Ace sleevenote treatment by Tony Rounce.
Allen was in his early 20s when singer Jesse Belvin became his mentor, introducing him to the Speciality imprint in 1955. This resulted in his biggest hit, Nite Owl, originally a B-side until Allen’s day job at a record manufacturing plant put him in the slightly surreal position of pressing his own record. Labelswapping on initial DJ copies ensued and was greeted with a growing buzz. While the single was still breaking, Allen defected to Johnny Otis’ Ultra/ Dig label, leaving him without a deal when it fizzled. For the rest of the 50s, he would appear on many labels, including Imperial, Aladdin, Dot, Bethlehem and Kent. The convoluted, double-dealing state of his releases didn’t, however, stop him turning out some fiery R&B, sublime doo wop and classy proto-soul, all topped with his distinctively-impassioned vocals and trademark hiccups.
