Luther Allison

Luther Sylvester Allison (born 17 August 1939 in Widener, AR, died 12 August 1997 in Madison, WI) was an American blues guitarist. His powerful guitar work – equal parts traditional blues string-bending and wall-shaking rock 'n roll – is matched in energy only by his soul-deep vocals. His live shows (often clocking in at well over three hours) are the stuff of legend. He was born in Widener, Arkansas (the 14th of 15 musically gifted children) first connected to the blues at age ten, when he began playing the diddley bow (a wire attached by nails to a wall with rocks for bridges and a bottle t…