The Allen Brothers (American duo)
The Allen Brothers were an American country music duo from Sewanee, Tennessee. The brothers were Austin Allen (Feb 7, 1901 – Jan 5, 1959) and Lee Allen (June 1, 1906 – Feb 24, 1981). They were nicknamed The Chattanooga Boys because many of their songs mention Chattanooga. Austin played banjo and Lee played guitar and kazoo. Influenced by local jazz and blues artists, they began performing in the 1920s in coal-mining towns, doing medicine shows and vaudeville.
They got a contract with Columbia Records and first recorded on April 7, 1927. Their debut, Salty Dog Blues, sold about 18,000 copies. Bow Wow Blues was another early hit, later described as dirty blues. Columbia briefly placed one of their recordings in the "race" series by mistake; the brothers threatened to sue and moved to Victor Records. With A&R man Ralph Peer, who helped bring Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family to fame, they cut their biggest hit, A New Salty Dog, in 1930.
The Great Depression ended their recording career; they stopped performing in 1934. They had sold more records than many other hillbilly groups—over 250,000 copies in total—but could not make a living from music. Austin moved to New York and the brothers worked in construction. The folk revival of the 1960s brought renewed interest in the duo. Austin had died in 1959 in South Carolina, but Lee continued to perform in Tennessee until his death in 1981.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 14:57 (CET).