Mose Allison, whose vast jazz and blues catalogue has been covered by many artists over the years including The Who, The Clash and Elvis Costello, passed away of natural causes on Tuesday at the age of 89. Allison’s death was confirmed by his daughter to Rolling Stone Tuesday afternoon.
Allison’s debut album Back Country Suite was released nearly sixty years ago in 1957 and featured a track called “Blues,” which would later be famously covered famously by the Who on their 1970 live recording Live At Leads under the name “Young Man Blues.” In an unreleased interview with Rolling Stone that will appear in a memoriam for Allison, Pete Townshend remembered his influence: “Mose was a huge, huge crush of mine. I just loved him. I loved everything he did. I did exactly the same thing.” Check out both the original version of “Blues” as well as the Who’s cover below.
Many struggled to categorize Allison’s work, with some calling him a pop artist while others defined him as a blues artist, and he leaves behind a catalogue of nearly thirty studio recordings. Perhaps most impressive was Allison’s longevity, with his latest studio release The Way Of The World having been released by ANTI- Records in 2010 when he was 83 years old. Check out the mind-boggling full list of artists that have covered Allison’s work here, and take a look back at his Greatest Hits album below.
