music.wikisort.org - Singer

Gene Allison (born Versie Eugene Allison; August 29, 1934[1] – February 28, 2004)[2] was an American R&B singer.

Allison was born in Pegram, Tennessee, and he grew up in Nashville, Tennessee singing in the church choir with his brother Leevert. As a teenager, Allison was offered a chance to sing with The Fairfield Four and, later, The Skylarks.[1] Record producer Ted Jarrett signed Allison to Calvert Records to record secular music; soon after Jarrett got a recording contract for him with Vee-Jay Records along with Larry Birdsong. Allison's debut single was "You Can Make It If You Try", written by Jarrett and released in 1957; it became a hit in the U.S.,[1] where it entered the Billboard Hot 100 chart in early 1958.

Allison would go on to score two more hit singles at the end of the 1950s,[1] and the success of "You Can Make It If You Try" allowed him to open a 24-hour soul food restaurant called Gene's Drive-In in Nashville.[3] Allison continued to perform well beyond his brief period of fame. He died of kidney failure, in Nashville, at age 69 in February 2004.[3]

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions
		U.S. Pop	U.S. R&B
1958	"You Can Make It If You Try"	36	3
1958	"Everything Will Be Alright"	-	19
1958	"Have Faith"	73	11

References

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