Biography
Sheldon Allman rarely registered as a familiar figure in the music industry except in homes filled with children, where his melodies and vocals tended to outshine any recognition of his actual identity. Chicago provided his birthplace, yet Canada became the setting for his upbringing. Following studies that led to a diploma from the Los Angeles Conservatory of Music, he served in the Canadian defense forces throughout the Second World War before building careers as both a performer and an actor. Songwriting formed another of his strengths, encompassing conventional pieces alongside humorous novelty numbers.
The early 1960s found him releasing the Del-Fi album Sing Along With Drac, a project whose premise simultaneously lampooned Mitch Miller and monster films. While maintaining an active schedule of television and motion-picture roles, he supplied the singing voice of the equine lead in the Mr. Ed sitcom. Two enduring contributions to animated programming arrived later in the decade when he composed the opening themes for the Jay Ward productions George of the Jungle and Super Chicken. The former track gained such wide recognition that Rhino Records later included a Led Zeppelin–styled send-up of it on the compilation Rerun Rock. Among his more conventional works stand the songs “A Quiet Kind of Love” and “Christmas Is in the Air.” Allman died at age 77 of heart failure. Alongside the late Hoyt Curtin, composer of most music for the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the late 1950s and the 1960s, he holds a distinctive place in the popular culture of the baby-boom generation.
The early 1960s found him releasing the Del-Fi album Sing Along With Drac, a project whose premise simultaneously lampooned Mitch Miller and monster films. While maintaining an active schedule of television and motion-picture roles, he supplied the singing voice of the equine lead in the Mr. Ed sitcom. Two enduring contributions to animated programming arrived later in the decade when he composed the opening themes for the Jay Ward productions George of the Jungle and Super Chicken. The former track gained such wide recognition that Rhino Records later included a Led Zeppelin–styled send-up of it on the compilation Rerun Rock. Among his more conventional works stand the songs “A Quiet Kind of Love” and “Christmas Is in the Air.” Allman died at age 77 of heart failure. Alongside the late Hoyt Curtin, composer of most music for the classic Hanna-Barbera cartoon series of the late 1950s and the 1960s, he holds a distinctive place in the popular culture of the baby-boom generation.
Albums
Singles
