Harley Allen

[Scotti Adams]

My good friend passed away peacefully at home this morning. May you rest in Peace


Nashville songwriter Harley Allen passed away this morning. He had been diagnosed recently with a stage 4 cancer.

Harley was the son of bluegrass legend Red Allen, and performed with his siblings and his dad for many years. He had written songs recorded by a great many country and bluegrass artists, such as Del McCoury, Alison Krauss, Ricky Skaggs, Rhonda Vincent, Alan Jackson, Geoge Jones and dozens more.

Perhaps his most enduring song is High Sierra, memorably performed here by Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton and Emmylou Harris.

[AlanN]

RIP, Harley Allen. Your memory lives on.

[sunburst]

Wow, he wasn't very old. Such a shame.

[jim simpson]

This is very sad news. He had such an expressive voice. Much too young to leave us.

[Scotti Adams]

Harley just turned 55 in January

[Scotti Adams]

http://www.musicrow.com/2011/03/song...-allen-passes/

[AlanN]

Man, he was good. There was just something pure, perfect and identifiable in his tenor singing. On songs like My Aching Heart.

[Jordan Ramsey]

So so sad to hear this, I really loved his singing. RIP Harley.

[Fretbear]

God bless him; I was fortunate to have completed writing a decent song in the last day or so, which I can never control or plan for. I will think of Harley when I sing it, maybe little gifts like songs can be left to others when we pass from this earth.

[doc holiday]

Scotti A...is that you playing mandolin? on the 1983 "Carolina in the Pines".....my favorite version w/ Harley Allen singing. Like his father Red, Harley was a great talent.

[Scotti Adams]

Yes..that would be me...thanks

[doc holiday]

Scotti, My sympathies on the loss of your friend. I've always liked the mandolin playing on that tune & "Carolina in the Pines" with Harley Allen singing & you playing will always be one of my very favorites

[Scotti Adams]

Thanks alot..that means alot to me.

[Dale Ludewig]

I heard about this earlier today. Sorry to all those whose hearts have another vacant spot because of this. A loss for all of us.

[Miko]

Very sad. And him so young. I knew him when he was a teen. Of all the brothers he was the one who got Daddy's voice.

[mandopete]

Wow, I was shocked when I just heard this news. Harley wrote so many great songs and this is a great loss for the music world.

Here's a nice version of one of his songs.

[mandolirius]

Very sad. And him so young. I knew him when he was a teen. Of all the brothers he was the one who got Daddy's voice.

True. I remember Grisman on a radio show after Red passed away, talking about the "Home Is Where The Heart Is" recording. Grisman had wanted to get one of the great tenor singers of the past but Red said the best tenor to match his voice was his son Harley. Grisman said "so I got him into the studio and he proved it to me."

Scotty, my sympathies. It's always tough to lose a friend. The one thing I think when a great musician passes is, at least we have the music to remember them by. Aside from the Grisman record I do have one other session with Harley - The Big Dogs, Live at the Birchmere. Harley, David Grier, Andrea Zonn, Debbie Nims and Tony Trischka. Harley's rendition of "Always On A Mountain" is one of my favourite vocal performances.

[Ivan Kelsall]

Scotti - I'm so sad to hear of the loss of your friend,Harley Allen.I had the pleasure of meeting & talking to him at some length several years back when he came over to the UK with Tony Trishka & the band that eventually became "The Big Dogs". He was very polite & charming & we talked mainly about his father,who still is one of my favourite artists in Bluegrass music.
Harley on stage was very witty & his song "High Sierra", sung as a duet with Debbie Nims, was one of the high points of the show,
Ivan

[Scotti Adams]

Just a little bit of irony I should pass on. Back in the late 80's my telephone rang...on the other end was Tony Trishka. He asked if I would be interested in joining the Big Dogs. Unfortunantly my wife and I at the time just had a little boy and I had just started a good job....so I turned down the gig. Tony asked if I could recommend someone...guess who I recommended. Harley didnt even own a mando at the time. He borrowed a mando another good friend of mine..Paul North.. built from a Stew-Mac Kit. It was sorta crude but man that thing sounded good. Harley recorded The Big Dogs Live project with it. Thanks all for the kind words.

[Stephen Cagle]

Harley was truely one of my favorite singers/songwriters and had a big influence on my music background in bluegrass. I was hooked on Harley as soon as I heard him sing susanne on an old Fire on the mountain tv show back in the 80′s. I as with many, many, many hundreds of other fan’s will miss him so much! Rest in peace Harley and God IS with your family right now in such a time of need.

[300win]

I liked to hear him and his daddy and his brothers. Way long time ago they had one recorded, I believe the best I can remember was called "The Singer". If I remember right, some of the lyrics were ' midnight moons and lovers harmonizing so fair ' maybe that's right and on the chorus' end was 'singing his life away '. I do know I thought at that time it was one of the best songs I had ever heard. Does these lyrics ring a bell with anyone else ? It was like during 1974-75 when that song was out. Sad that he's gone.

[catmandu2]

My condolences to all.

[Scotti Adams]

Yes,,,,The Singer...written by Neal Allen.

Midnight moons and lovers almond queen so fair , promises made and broken and fadinR everywhere but you know hes was a singer pickin nights and sleepin days and he'll always be a dreamer , dreamin life away Remember all the people he meet along the way , there are those he left with sorrow for mistakes that he made. But you know he was a Singer pickin nights and sleepin days and he'll always be a Singer, dreamin life away.

[swampstomper]

Sad indeed.

Don't forget that Harley was the tenor in the "power trio" of the "hit" version of the Soggy Bottom Boys' "Man of Constant Sorrow" -- singing with Dan Tyminski (lead) and Pat Enright (baritone).

A real "sleeper" where Harley showed his stuff early was his dad's "In Memory of the Man" (Lester Flatt), on Folkways, now Smithsonian Folkways FW31073, back in 1980. He traded tenor duties with Curly Sechler on that one. I also really liked the sound of the Allen Brothers (FW31075) from the same year, young men doing fresh versions of some standards and some new compositions.

RIP

[Scotti Adams]

Actually Harley sang the baritone part in Man of a Constant Sorrow