Biography

Country music radio personality, publishing and recording executive, and songwriter. Born October 3, 1924. Died August 2, 2002. Full name Joe Marion Allison. Career active from the late 1930s through the mid-1970s. Produced Country America for ABC-TV in the late 1950s. Producer for Liberty Records, Paramount, and Capitol Records in the 1960s and 1970s. As a songwriter, his credits include “Live Fast, Love Hard, Die Young” (recorded by Faron Young, 1955), and “He’ll Have to Go” (recorded by Jim Reeves, 1960). Member, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Interview Summary

1994 July 28
(3 hours, 21 minutes)
Disc jockey, songwriter, and music industry executive Joe Allison recalls various artists and colleagues from old radio and television shows, award dinners, and recording sessions. Discussion includes country comedians the Duke of Paducah, Rod Brasfield, and Minnie Pearl; performers Floyd Tillman, Anita Kerr, Chet Atkins, the Wilburn Brothers, Warren Smith, Tennessee Ernie Ford, and Justin Tubb; and executives Connie B. Gay and Wesley Rose; Joe Allison also recalls how the Hank Williams demo for “There’s a Tear in My Beer” surfaced and became the basis for an award-winning video.