Smiley Roberts
From:
Hendersonville,Tn. 37075
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Posted 4 Aug 2002 1:14 am |
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Here's the complete obit. from the "Tennessean" newspaper.
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Composer of 'He'll Have to Go' dies
By ROBERT K. OERMANN
For The Tennessean
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member Joe Allison died yesterday afternoon in Saint Thomas Hospital.
Mr. Allison, 77, died of respiratory failure after a long battle with lung disease. He is remembered as the composer of such hits as the Jim Reeves' classic He'll Have to Go and Faron Young's Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young.
His contributions to the music world were many. In addition to writing hits, Joe Allison was a recording executive, radio personality, song publisher and record producer. He worked with Willie Nelson, Bob Wills, Tex Ritter, Hank Thompson and numerous other top stars. He was also a founding board member of the Country Music Association (CMA).
''Joe will be remembered as one of the most multi-talented people who ever worked in this business,'' said famed record producer Fred Foster last night. ''He was a poet and a producer, and he was so witty, funny and quick. He could converse with you on any number of levels. I'll miss him. We all will.''
Foster is coordinating the funeral arrangements for his late friend.
Born in McKinney, Texas, on Oct. 3, 1924, Joe Marion Allison initially made his mark as a radio broadcaster in the Lone Star State. He moved to Nashville in 1949 to become a disc jockey at WMAK. He eventually worked in television and radio in Music City for WSM and WSIX.
In 1953 he was among the co-founders of the Country Music Disc Jockey Association, the forerunner of today's CMA.
His first big success as a songwriter was when Tex Ritter recorded the top-10 hit When You Leave, Don't Slam the Door in 1946. Mr. Allison also won BMI Awards for It's a Great Life (recorded by Faron Young, 1956) and Teen-Age Crush (Tommy Sands, 1957).
His biggest success came with He'll Have to Go (1960), which not only topped the country charts, but was a major pop hit as well. His fifth BMI Award came for its ''answer'' song, He'll Have to Stay (Jeanne Black, 1960).
Other notable songs included I'd Fight the World (Jim Reeves, 1974) and Love Is Just a State of Mind (Roy Clark, 1969).
Among the other artists who recorded his works were Nat ''King'' Cole, Patsy Cline, The Limeliters, Elvis Presley, Ray Price, Ry Cooder, Ray Anthony, the Anita Kerr Singers, Bing Crosby, Tom Jones, Eddy Arnold and Billy Joe Royal.
Allsion moved to Los Angeles to produce the 1957-60 television show Country America. On the West Coast, he became the professional manager of the Central Songs publishing company. Writers there included Harlan Howard, Bobby Bare, Tommy Collins and Buck Owens.
Then, as a talent scout for Liberty Records, Mr. Allison produced the early recordings of Willie Nelson and Hank Cochran.
He also helped revive the career of western-swing king Bob Wills while at Liberty.
He continued working in radio, creating a long-running country show that aired over the Armed Forces Radio Network in the 1960s.
In Nashville, he was instrumental in establishing the CMA and the Country Music Foundation (CMF).
His sales presentations for the CMA helped convince advertisers and broadcasters to support country as a musical style, long before it became fashionable. He persuaded the city to donate land for the CMF's original Country Music Hall of Fame. In recognition, the CMA gave Mr. Allison its Founding President's Award in 1964.
Mr. Allison moved back to Nashville in 1965. He produced hits for Dot Records such as Roy Clark's Tips of My Fingers (1963), Hank Thompson's Smoky the Bar (1969) and Roy Clark's Yesterday When I Was Young (1969).
Those successes led to his appointment as the head of the Paramount Records office in Nashville, 1970-72.
There he groomed such hit makers as Tommy Overstreet and Joe Stampley. In 1972-74 he was with Capitol Records, developing cowboy star Red Steagall and producing his old friend, Tex Ritter.
Mr. Allison was inducted into the Country Disc Jockey Hall of Fame in 1976 and into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978. In the 1980s and 1990s he remained active on the boards and committees of various music organizations in Nashville. In later years, he became a successful antiques dealer.
Joe Allison is survived by wife Rita; by sons Gregory Joe, Brian James and Mark Woodward; and by brother Jerry, all of Nashville.
Funeral arrangements were incomplete at press time.
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