Red Allen

Recording Artist · Active 1953–1993 · Hazard · Also a musician
Classic Bluegrass

Red Allen was one of the first important bluegrass vocalists of the Midwestern Appalachian diaspora — a Kentucky-born Dayton, Ohio-based singer whose hard-edged, deeply expressive lead vocals anchored the original Osborne Brothers band and his later work with the Kentuckians (featuring a young David Grisman) and his own Kentucky Ramblers.

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  • Born Harley B. “Red” Allen in Hazard, Kentucky. Moved to Dayton, Ohio as a young man as part of the Appalachian migration to Midwestern factory towns.
  • Joined Bobby and Sonny Osborne to form the Osborne Brothers in 1956 at WJR Detroit. Sang lead while Bobby sang tenor; this was the original three-voice Osborne lineup.
  • Recorded with the Osbornes on MGM Records 1956–1958, including the hits “Ruby, Are You Mad?” and “Once More” — the recording that introduced the “high-lead” vocal trio. (The Osbornes then switched their vocal approach; Bobby took over lead vocals.)
  • Left the Osbornes in 1958. Formed Red Allen and the Kentuckians in the early 1960s; lineups included a young Frank Wakefield (mandolin), Porter Church (banjo), and in the mid-1960s Northern teenager David Grisman on mandolin.
  • The Kentuckians became one of the most influential touring bluegrass bands of the folk revival era in the Midwest and Northeast.
  • Later worked with his own Allen Brothers (with brother Harley) and various Kentucky Ramblers configurations.
  • Influenced every hard-edged midwestern bluegrass lead vocalist who followed, including Jimmy Martin's later style and the Dillards.
  • Died in Dayton, Ohio on April 3, 1993 at age 63.
  • Inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor in 2012 (with his band the Kentuckians/Allen Brothers).

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