Lee Allen
Lee Francis Allen (July 2, 1927 – October 18, 1994) was an American tenor saxophone player. Phil Alvin, Allen's bandmate in The Blasters, called him one of the most important instrumentalists in rock'n'roll. Allen's distinctive tone has been hailed as "one of the defining sounds of rock'n'roll" and "one of the DNA strands of rock." Allen was a key figure in New Orleans rock and roll of the 1950s and recorded with many leading performers of the early rock and roll era. He was semiretired from music by the late 1960s, but in the late 1970s returned to performing intermittently until the end of his life. |
Birth and Death Data: Born (Crawford County (county in Kansas, United States)), Died October 18, 1994 (Los Angeles (seat of Los Angeles County, and largest city in California, United States) )
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1949 - 1958
Roles Represented in DAHR: tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 123 records)
| Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia | CO48559 | 10-in. | 11/17/1952 | Yes you do, yes you do | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO48560 | 10-in. | 11/17/1952 | Time is a-passin' | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO48561 | 10-in. | 11/17/1952 | Don't worry me | Paul Gayten Orchestra ; LaVerne Smith | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO48562 | 10-in. | 11/17/1952 | It ain't nothin' happenin' | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO50489 | 10-in. | 11/23/1953 | Sweetheart of all my dreams (I love you, I love you, I love you) | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO50490 | 10-in. | 11/23/1953 | Creole alley | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO50491 | 10-in. | 11/23/1953 | Mule face | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Columbia | CO50492 | 10-in. | 11/23/1953 | It's over | Paul Gayten Orchestra | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | |
| Atlantic | 1073 | 10-in. | 5/12/1953 | Honey hush | Joe Turner | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone | ||
| Atlantic | 1074 | 10-in. | 5/12/1953 | Crawdad hole | Allen Lee ; Joe Turner | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone | ||
| Atlantic | 1173 | 10-in. | November 1953 | In the night | Professor Longhair and his Blues Scholars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Atlantic | 1174 | 10-in. | November 1953 | Tipitina | Professor Longhair and his Blues Scholars | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Atlantic | 1308 | 10-in. | 8/8/1954 | Jam up | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Mercury | 7804 | 10-in. | 8/19/1949 | Her mind is gone | Roy Byrd's Blues Jumpers | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Mercury | 7805 | 10-in. | 8/19/1949 | Bald head | Roy Byrd's Blues Jumpers | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Mercury | 7806 | 10-in. | 8/19/1949 | Hey now baby | Roy Byrd's Blues Jumpers | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-341 | 10-in. | 9/13/1951 | When night falls | James Wayne | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-343 | 10-in. | 9/13/1951 | Home town blues | James Wayne | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-345 | 10-in. | 9/19/1951 | Ageable woman | James Wayne | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-346 | 10-in. | 9/19/1951 | Vacant pillow blues | James Wayne | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-451 | 10-in. | 6/3/1952 | The bells are ringing | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-452 | 10-in. | 6/3/1952 | Lillie Mae | Smiley Lewis | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-455 | 10-in. | June, 1952 | Lavinia | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-456 | 10-in. | June, 1952 | I live my life | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone | ||
| Imperial | IM-457 | 10-in. | June, 1952 | Good times | Tommy Ridgley | instrumentalist, tenor saxophone |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Allen, Lee," accessed January 8, 2026, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/377397.
Allen, Lee. (2026). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved January 8, 2026, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/377397.
"Allen, Lee." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2026. Web. 8 January 2026.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Allen, Lee, 1926-1994 - https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n84077429
Wikidata: Lee Allen (musician) - https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q355502
VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/34650749
MusicBrainz: Lee Allen - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3b5e607d-7d23-451d-9417-6af486782e6a
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