From Reluctant Teen Idol To High Volume Musician

Birthday tribute to Keith Allison, utility guy to the stars

Happy heavenly birthday to Keith Allison (1942-2021), the prolific and accomplished musician whose career intersected with The Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, Alice Cooper, The Crickets, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Monkees, Rick Nelson, Nilsson, Roy Orbison, Dennis Quaid, Paul Revere & The Raiders, Johnny Rivers, Peter Sellers, and Ringo Starr. Keith was also an auxiliary member of The Wrecking Crew—that’s Keith doing harmonica and guitar on Sonny & Cher’s “The Beat Goes On.” As an actor Keith appeared in several major films. However, I knew him as the “teen idol” that wasn't meant to be.

When I was a kid in the 60s, I watched WHERE THE ACTION IS on TV every chance I got. WTAI introduced us to dozens of excellent and influential music acts. It was anchored by the fantastic “house band” Paul Revere & The Raiders featuring Mark Lindsay.

Keith was a fill-in with the band, then he became a regular “face” on the show due to his resemblance to Paul McCartney, and the “teen idol” factory pitched him in magazines like 16 and Teen Beat.

However, Keith's "face time" lost out to Davy Jones, Sajid Khan, and other male cherubs of the day. Instead, Keith embarked on a fruitful journey as an actor, session man, touring musician, and occasional solo act.

In 2008 Keith came to see us (Davy Jones Band) at the Canyon Club in L.A. He hung out the entire show and came backstage to visit. Davy was tied up with fans, so Keith leisurely chatted with me. I always wondered why he stepped back from the “teen idol” role and I asked him about that. He replied, “I was happy to be a utility guy. I had plenty to do besides seeing my head on posters. I got to work with people like Ringo and do all kinds of records, so being in a backseat worked out fine for me.”

Even though I spent but 20 minutes with him, his musical output has been a soundtrack playing in my life for many years, and I felt his passing in 2021. Here’s his song “Freeborn Man” 

, a song he co-wrote with Mark Lindsay and went on to be covered by Glen Campbell, Jerry Reed, and many others. Meanwhile, HB KA and thank you for your stamp on so many great records that gave so many people joy.

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