Gene Allison, born Versle Eugene Allison on August 29, 1934, in Pegram, Tennessee, remains best known for the enduring R&B standard “You Can Make It if You Try.” Seven years after his birth his family settled in Nashville, where he and his brother Leevert, who later became a professional gospel singer, refined their voices in the church choir. While still attending high school, Allison substituted for the celebrated gospel quartet the Fairfield Four; a subsequent engagement with the Skylarks then attracted the interest of songwriter and producer Ted Jarrett, who persuaded him to join the Calvert label and shift toward secular material. When Vee-Jay Records began pursuing Jarrett’s other protégé, singer Larry Birdsong, the producer required the label to sign Allison as well. His debut release, the Jarrett-penned, gospel-inspired ballad “You Can Make It if You Try,” was tracked at Owen Bradley’s Nashville studio and issued by Vee-Jay in 1957, rising to the top five of Billboard’s R&B chart and crossing into the pop Top 40. The hit’s impact allowed Allison to launch his own Nashville establishment, the 24-hour soul food restaurant Gene’s Drive-In, with his mother installed as manager. He returned to the R&B charts with two further Top 20 singles, “Have Faith” and “Everything Will Be Alright,” yet the raw, soulful force of his voice never again produced comparable commercial results. Allison died of liver and kidney failure on February 28, 2004, at the age of 69.
