- Joined
- Feb 6, 2011
- Messages
- 4,201
- Reaction score
- 2,454
- Location
- Gloucester County, NJ
- Guild Total
- 13
Word is just getting out that Mose Allison passed away today.
What? Man, this is a tough week!
Oh that one hits hard.
Yep, from Live At Leeds. What a year but he had a pretty good innings (to use a cricket metaphor). RIP.Probably like many from my generation, I learned of him through the Who. But let's go to the source.
It is with great sadness that we report the death of Mose Allison at the grand age of 89. Mose Allison was a huge influence on The Who and in particular, Pete Townshend. One of his most well-known numbers,'Back Country Suite: Blues' aka 'Young Man's Blues' from Allison's 1957 album Back Country Suite was covered by the band very early in their career and became a staple of Who live shows for many years, appearing on their 1970 album Live At Leeds. The Who's version became known as 'Young Man Blues'.Mose Allison's songs have been covered by Van Morrison, John Mayall, The Who, The Clash, Eric Clapton, The Yardbirds, Elvis Costello and Bonnie Raitt to name a few. Van Morrison recorded a tribute album, Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison, and musicians such as Pete Townshend, Bonnie Raitt, Ray Davies and Bill Wyman have frequently cited Mose Allison as a major influence. Time Out magazine said of him . . .
"Mose Allison’s popularity in the UK dates from the ‘60s, when his mixture of Delta-born blues feel and his gift for writing a song with a sting in the tail made him a prime source of inspiration for the UK’s new generation of blues/rock artists. Not just namechecked but lionized by the likes of Pete Townshend, Jack Bruce, Brian Auger and Georgie Fame, he became British rock’s most popular jazz musician. His piano style is notable for its strange mixture of classical-influenced sophistication and blues-based intimacy, and there’s still none like him with a lyric."
Here's Mose Allison's original version of 'Back Country Suite: Blues' aka 'Young Man's Blues'.
R.I.P. Mose Allison, 11November 1927 - 15 November 2016.