# Ricky Allen

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ricky_Allen
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ricky_Allen.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Allen
> Source revision: 1301817759
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

Not to be confused with [Rocky Allen](/source/Rocky_Allen).

**Richard A. Allen** (January 6, 1935 – May 29, 2005)[1] was an American [blues](/source/Blues) singer from Chicago.

## Background

He was born in [Nashville, Tennessee](/source/Nashville,_Tennessee), and began his singing career as a member of a church choir in his home town. He relocated to Chicago in 1960, and received a recording contract one year later at [Age Records](/source/Age_Records). He had a local [hit](/source/Hit_record) with "You Better Be Sure" and, in 1963, his hit "Cut You A-Loose" reached Number 20 in *[Billboard](/source/Billboard_(magazine))'*s [R&B](/source/Hot_R%26B/Hip-Hop_Songs) [chart](/source/Record_chart). Some of his [recordings](/source/Sound_recording_and_reproduction) of the 1960s, such as "It's A Mess I Tell You" and "I Can't Stand No Signifying", portended the emerging [soul-blues](/source/Soul-blues) style of the 1970s.[1]

## Career

Allen recorded "I Ain't Never" bw "Hurt Look on My Face", which was released on [USA](/source/USA_Records) 858 in 1966. It was a *Billboard* R&B Spotlight Chart record for the week of 17 December.[2][3]

## Later years

After his retirement from the [music industry](/source/Music_industry) in the early 1970s, he ran a laundry and a limousine service.[1]

In 2001, he performed at the [Mönsterås](/source/M%C3%B6nster%C3%A5s) Festival in Sweden, and the following year at the [Chicago Blues Festival](/source/Chicago_Blues_Festival). He died in 2005, aged 70.

## References

1. *[Juke Blues](/source/Juke_Blues)* no.59, 2005, Obituaries, p.68

1. Soulful Kinda Music - [Ricky Allen, Ricky Allen, USA 858 - Ain't Never / Hurt Look On My Face - 1966](https://www.soulfulkindamusic.net/rallen.htm)

1. *Billboard*, December 17, 1966 - [Page 16 *SPOTLIGHT SINGLES*, R & B SPOTLIGHTS, CHART, RICKY ALLEN -1 Ain't Never (Cedesnood, SMI). U. S. A. 858](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/60s/1966/Billboard%201966-12-17.pdf)

- Komara, Edward (ed.) (2006), *Encyclopedia of the Blues*, Routledge

## External links

- [Obituary](http://home.nestor.minsk.by/jazz/news/2005/06/0204.html), *Jazz News*, 2005

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ricky Allen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Allen) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricky_Allen?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.