Red Allen and the Kentuckians

Red Allen and the Kentuckians is a classic piece of bluegrass memorabilia. It was recorded at the station WKCR in New York with host Pete Wernick in early March, 1966. It features the talents of Red’s guitar and vocals along with a young David Grisman on mandolin, Porter Church on five-string banjo and Bobby Diamond on fiddle.

Red Allen and the Kentuckians recorded for a time on County Records in New York. Although the recordings are hard to come by, the sound of the group has echoed through the artists of today. Red has his signature crooning tenor vocals in heartfelt melodies like Hank Williams’s “We Live in Two Different Worlds.” The strings start smoking on “Pike County Breakdown,” Porter Church leading with his lightning-fast picking on the banjo. Bobby Diamond’s fiddle burns like a branding iron to the soul in the Flatt & Scruggs classic “Someone Took My Place With You.” “Little David’s coming along with his picking,” Allen brags on the future creator of Dawg music, David  Grisman. David comes up to sing with Red on “Love Please Come Home,” leading the tune with his mandolin.

Grisman kicks off Allen’s original “Out on the Ocean,” a tune that is full of longing and loneliness. And, in bluegrass fashion, the sadness is uplifted by “Panhandle Country,” where once again Grisman, Church and Diamond fly with grace through a flurry of notes and fade out at the show’s end. For the diehard enthusiast, there’s a Deluxe Edition of the show at WKCR followed by the Night Talk radio show with host Jack McKinney. It features an additional 11 tracks, such as “Little Maggie” and “Worried Man Blues.”