Blues Legend Luther Allison Succumbs To Cancer

08/12/1997 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Lyndsey Parker

(8/12/97) - Blues guitar legend Luther Allison died today, August 12th, at the University Of Wisconsin Hospital, where he had been receiving treatment since his diagnosis of lung cancer and brain tumors July 10th. Allison had played with almost every major blues figure over the last three decades and was an important influence on rock 'n' roll; after long-term success in Europe, he experienced an American revival after signing to Alligator Records in 1994 and releasing such albums as Blue Streak and Reckless. In both 1996 and 1997, Allison was named Entertainer Of The year at the W.C. Handy Blues Awards; this year he also won for Best Male Contemporary Blues Artist, and Luther Allison & the James Solberg Band collected the prize for Blues Band Of The Year. His recent North American tour included appearances as the Montreal Jazz Festival, the Beale Street Music Festival and the Monterey Bay Blues Festival, but upcoming tour plans were cut down when he was struck with his disease. Allison was 57 years old.