Rusty Allen
Encyclopedia
Rustee Allen is an American
musician
best known as the bass guitar
player for the influential funk
band Sly & the Family Stone
from 1972 to 1975. Allen replaced founding Family Stone member Larry Graham
, who was forced out of the band and went on to start his own, Graham Central Station
.
, and raised in Oakland, California
, Allen began teaching himself to play the guitar at age twelve. He later joined a local band, and was assigned to play the bass parts on the bottom four strings of his guitar. Penciling in a mustache on his face to obscure his being underage, he was soon playing in bars with blues guitarist Johnny Talbot. A stint with the Edwin Hawkins Singers led him to meet Freddie Stone
, brother of Sly Stone
and the guitarist in Sly & the Family Stone
. Freddie hired Allen to play bass for Little Sister
, a Family Stone offshoot group.
Larry Graham
, the bass player for the Family Stone, was quoted as saying that if he ever left the group, he wanted Allen to replace him. In 1972, Allen got his chance, and assumed the role of bass player in the Family Stone after Graham was forced out of the band. Allen's recorded work with the Family Stone includes tracks from two LPs, Fresh
(1973) and Small Talk (1974), along with the track "Organize" from High on You
(1975). When the Family Stone dissolved in early 1975, Allen joined Robin Trower
’s hard blues-rock band, where he played on two albums, 1977's In City Dreams
and 1978's Caravan To Midnight
.
Allen has also played bass with a number of other artists, including George Clinton
, Lenny Williams
, The Temptations
, and Lighthouse for the Blind. He led his own group, the jazz fusion
band Second Wind, from 1977 to 1978. Since 1994, Allen has played bass for Bobby Womack
. In 2006, Allen performed with Sly & the Family Stone at the 48th Grammy Awards. Allen is currently working on a solo CD entitled Psychic Change, to be issued on his own label, Rustee Nails.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
best known as the bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
player for the influential funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
band Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
from 1972 to 1975. Allen replaced founding Family Stone member Larry Graham
Larry Graham
Larry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station...
, who was forced out of the band and went on to start his own, Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station
Graham Central Station is a funk band named after founder Larry Graham . The name is a pun on New York City's Grand Central Terminal, often incorrectly called Grand Central Station....
.
Biography
Born in Monroe, LouisianaMonroe, Louisiana
Monroe is a city in and the parish seat of Ouachita Parish, Louisiana, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 53,107, making it the eighth largest city in Louisiana. A July 1, 2007, United States Census Bureau estimate placed the population at 51,208, but 51,636...
, and raised in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
, Allen began teaching himself to play the guitar at age twelve. He later joined a local band, and was assigned to play the bass parts on the bottom four strings of his guitar. Penciling in a mustache on his face to obscure his being underage, he was soon playing in bars with blues guitarist Johnny Talbot. A stint with the Edwin Hawkins Singers led him to meet Freddie Stone
Freddie Stone
Freddie Stone is an African-American musician, best known for his role as co-founder, guitarist, and vocalist in the band Sly & The Family Stone, the frontman for which was his brother Sly Stone...
, brother of Sly Stone
Sly Stone
Sly Stone is an American musician, songwriter, and record producer, most famous for his role as frontman for Sly & the Family Stone, a band which played a critical role in the development of soul, funk and psychedelia in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1993, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of...
and the guitarist in Sly & the Family Stone
Sly & the Family Stone
Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...
. Freddie hired Allen to play bass for Little Sister
Little Sister (band)
Little Sister was an American all-female vocal harmony group, which served primarily as the background vocalists for the influential rock/funk band Sly & the Family Stone in concert and on record...
, a Family Stone offshoot group.
Larry Graham
Larry Graham
Larry Graham, Jr. is an African American bass guitar player, both with the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and frontman of Graham Central Station...
, the bass player for the Family Stone, was quoted as saying that if he ever left the group, he wanted Allen to replace him. In 1972, Allen got his chance, and assumed the role of bass player in the Family Stone after Graham was forced out of the band. Allen's recorded work with the Family Stone includes tracks from two LPs, Fresh
Fresh (Sly and the Family Stone album)
Fresh is the sixth album by American funk/soul/rock band Sly & the Family Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records on June 30, 1973...
(1973) and Small Talk (1974), along with the track "Organize" from High on You
High on You
High on You is the first solo album by singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Sly Stone, released by Epic/CBS Records in 1975. It reflects the beginnings of change in the concept of "Sly & the Family Stone". Formerly a tangible self-contained band, the Family Stone broke up in January 1975 after a...
(1975). When the Family Stone dissolved in early 1975, Allen joined Robin Trower
Robin Trower
Robin Leonard Trower , known professionally as Robin Trower, is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the bandleader of his own power trio.-Biography:...
’s hard blues-rock band, where he played on two albums, 1977's In City Dreams
In City Dreams
In City Dreams is guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower's fifth solo studio album. It was released in 1977.-Track listing:All tracks composed by Robin Trower and James Dewar; except where indicated#"Somebody Calling" - 4:56...
and 1978's Caravan To Midnight
Caravan to Midnight
Caravan to Midnight is the sixth studio album by Robin Trower. The album cover art is by Hipgnosis.-Track listing:All tracks by James Dewar and Robin Trower except where noted#"My Love "- 3:17#"Caravan to Midnight" - 5:01...
.
Allen has also played bass with a number of other artists, including George Clinton
George Clinton (funk musician)
George Clinton is an American singer, songwriter, bandleader, and music producer and the principal architect of P-Funk. He was the mastermind of the bands Parliament and Funkadelic during the 1970s and early 1980s, and launched a solo career in 1981. He has been cited as one of the foremost...
, Lenny Williams
Lenny Williams
Leonard Charles "Lenny" Williams is an American singer known for his work in the R&B and soul music genres. During the 1970s, he was the lead vocalist for Tower of Power...
, The Temptations
The Temptations
The Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
, and Lighthouse for the Blind. He led his own group, the jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
band Second Wind, from 1977 to 1978. Since 1994, Allen has played bass for Bobby Womack
Bobby Womack
Robert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
. In 2006, Allen performed with Sly & the Family Stone at the 48th Grammy Awards. Allen is currently working on a solo CD entitled Psychic Change, to be issued on his own label, Rustee Nails.