Harley Allen-Mike Lilly Band - On My Mind

[sickofyou60]

Great to see my old friend Freddy Harris on mandolin. For those of you who may not know, Freddie passed away a few years ago as the result of an aneurysm. He was a great mandolin player, and good friend

[stellingbanjos]

rest in peace. had the plessure to play banjo with you harley.

brian blaylock

[WashboardWizard]

Harley Allen passed away at his home in Nashville on March 30, 2011, after a struggle with lung cancer. Nashville remembers the great country songwriter, but here he's doing what he loved best, just nailing a classic bluegrass song. Bluegrass never had a better singer.

[WashboardWizard]

No, that was his dad, the late Harley "Red" Allen, who cut "Teardrops" with the Osborne Brothers for MGM 50 years ago. A record worth seeking out. Red was one of the all-time greats, and so was Harley, who passed away on Wednesday morning.

[jim7233]

Harley is a great entertainer, and FUNNY, He is a genuine riot between songs. If you have never seen him in person, you have missed something.Mike is also superb. One of the best banjo players/singers out there.

[DeathsNephew]

Harley Allen is my uncle dead serious

[andremaritime]

First heard Harley Allen with the "Big Dogs" been a huge fan ever since. It must be him that wrote Teardrops in my eyes which I first heard the New Riders cover back in the 70's

[RenoGuitar]

Absolutely Incredible job guys! If anyone has anymore to pass along I'm sure we would gladly appreciate it.

[TruegrassBoy]

Dang - sounds so much like Red. I guess the bluegrass apple don't fall far from the tree!

[Larrynager]

As for the late, great Red Allen, I also had the honor of playing bass with him through most of the '80s. If you weren't lucky enough to hear him play live, his best recordings from County and Melodeon can be found on two Rebel reissues. There's also the great Bluegrass Holiday album, with Red, J.D. Crowe and Doyle Lawson, also on Rebel, and, finally, a nice collection of his Folkways recordings on that label. And, on a good night, Red sounded as great as he ever did, even in the late '80s.

[Larrynager]

Harley Allen is still a great bluegrass singer. I'm the bass player in this video and played with Harley and Mke from fall of '82 to June 85. As good as this sounds, the band was not at its best. You can see how nervous Freddie Harris is on mandolin. The best this band sounded was at the Bottom's Up, a Dayton dive we played every Friday and Saturday night, four sets a night. Mike never played the same banjo solo twice, timing was amazing, the singing ungodly. Our Folkways CD is still available.

[TruegrassBoy]

@Larrynager - Nice job and glad you weighed in on this video. Where can one get your CD? Does Folkways still sell it?

[Larrynager]

Thanks for all the kind words. Folkways still sells Suzanne, the sole Allen Lilly Band album, in digital format, along with Red's last Folkways album, The Red Allen Tradition, which featured Harley, Mike and myself, along with such unknowns as Vassar Clements, Marty Stuart and Josh Graves. Suzanne (the song) can also be found on the first volume of Folkways' Classic Bluegrass series of CDs.

[dales6868]

Harley Allen was a great bluegrass singer.. I used to follow his band with mike lilly throughout 1982-1985.They did a show in 1982 at vanceburg,kentucky with the great singer Dave evans.Also Keith Whitley was there with JD crowe they did songs from the "My home aint in the hall of fame" cd...I was 15 and all 3 Harley Allen,Dave Evans and Keith Whitley did a super jam on saturday night and my good god is was plain magic..Dave evans did the tenor with Keith lead and Harley baritone..AWESOME !!!

[collingsmando]

Man I'd love to see a reunion of these guys tear up the festival circuit for just one summer! Anybody know why they don't play much anymore?  Seems to me a lot of people would love to see them again.

[BanjoBoyMatteo]

I don't know the reason they don't play around much anymore, but I know I'd love to see them. Mike Lilly is an extremely underrated banjo player, and Harley could make Red proud!!

[loggyness]

Man...Mike never ceases to amaze me, He could always play the heck out of a Banjer lol

[dragonmaster101]

god night the only thing better than that is when wvu beat oklahomar

[hauntedhill]

Thank God for Youtube! This generation knows Harley for his songwriting, the rest of us remember this stuff.

Harley first with his brothers Neal, Greg and Ronnie then with Mike (and Greg added later) picked when you had to play the dive bars to make a dime...if that. They played because it was in their soul, and it shines!

Simply the best!

[nonmax15]

You just said it man. Harley is such an amazing singer. Hung out with him at IBMA while back and super cool too.

[TheGrannyPam]

Freddie Harris on Mando

[miamijohn]

Harley "Red" Allen (born February 12, 1930 Pigeon Roost Hollow, near Hazard, Kentucky - died April 15, 1993) was a bluegrass singer and guitarist known for his powerful tenor voice. He was living in Dayton, Ohio at the time of his death. I had the privledge and honor of playing music with Red many times. He is dearly missed.

[andremaritime]

Where can I hear Harley Allens Dad ?

[Larrynager]

Rebel has two great reissue CDs of County, Rebel & Melodeon material. Folkways has a single volume, The Folkways Years, and there are singles scattered on various compilations. You can also find his revolutionary MGM recordings with the Osborne Brothers, when Red got equal billing, on the first Osbornes Bear Family box set. Red's worth hunting for. Hearing him on those old County records 40 years ago changed my life. Literally.

[2ndgeneration]

Finally, a video with Mike Lilly! Best unheard of banjo picker on the planet!

[sav1028]

I've heard of him...LOL! Agree with you, though, he doesn't get enough credit for his wonderful playing.

[Granada90]

Barry, I couldn't have said it better myself! I got to jam with him a few times and he still blows me away!

[BanjoBoyMatteo]

Agreed! Great Reno-style solo there!

[wrint]

is there video of Red Allen out there?

[BanjoBoyMatteo]

I wish there was...but I never heard of any

[mekano]

Soulful singing, just like his great father!