Biography
Born on 21 March 1900 in Montgomery, Alabama, and passing away on 16 July 1985 in Chicago, Illinois, Allen built his career as a record executive who directed the United/States group of labels throughout the 1950s. Over the six years the operation remained active, it issued several landmark R&B successes, including Jimmy Forrest’s “Night Train,” Tab Smith’s “Because Of You,” the Danderliers’ “Chop Boom,” and the Four Blazes’ “Mary Jo.” Among the performers who made their first recordings for the firm were the Staple Singers, the Caravans, and Junior Wells, while the roster also featured such established blues figures as Robert Nighthawk, Roosevelt Sykes, and Memphis Slim. Allen had relocated to Chicago in 1917 and performed with a gospel quartet during the 1920s; from 1928 until the close of the 1940s he held a position as an officer with the Chicago Police Department. In 1951, while supporting himself through tailoring, he entered the music industry by partnering with Lew Simpkins—who had previously handled A&R duties at Miracle and Premium, both owned by Lee Egalnick—to launch the United imprint. Following Simpkins’s death in May 1953, Allen assumed complete ownership, and later that year he introduced the subsidiary States label. He shuttered United/States in 1957, after which he made only sporadic, small-scale returns to recording activities while relying primarily on his tailoring trade for income.
Singles