Music
Richard "Pistol" Allen
1932–2002 · drummer
Funk Brothers drummer behind most Holland–Dozier–Holland hits, from "Heat Wave" and "Baby Love" to "Reach Out I'll Be There".
- Born
Memphis, Tennessee- Died
Detroit, Michigan
aged 69- Birth name
- Howard Richard Allen
- Also known as
- Pistol Allen
- Detroit years
- 1950s–2002
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Allen was the main session drummer on most of the 1960s productions of Holland–Dozier–Holland at Hitsville U.S.A. His beat drives Martha and the Vandellas' "Heat Wave", the Supremes' "Where Did Our Love Go" and "Baby Love", the Temptations' "The Way You Do the Things You Do", Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet It Is" and the Four Tops' "Reach Out I'll Be There", and later Stevie Wonder's "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". He named Max Roach, Buddy Rich and his colleague Benny Benjamin as influences. Allen stayed in Detroit after Motown's move and kept playing jazz; he is heard on saxophonist James Carter's album Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge, recorded at the Livernois Avenue club in 2001. He filmed interviews for Standing in the Shadows of Motown but died of cancer in Detroit in June 2002, four months before its release.
Highlights
- Main drummer on Holland–Dozier–Holland's 1960s hits
- Drums on "Heat Wave", "Baby Love" and "Reach Out I'll Be There"
- Played on James Carter's Live at Baker's Keyboard Lounge (2001)
- Michigan Rock and Roll Legends Hall of Fame 2010 with the Funk Brothers
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Recorded here · 1960s–1972
Motown Museum
Played on Motown sessions in Studio A, the basement room the musicians nicknamed the "Snake Pit".
Performed here · 2001
Baker's Keyboard Lounge
He played on saxophonist James Carter's live album recorded at this jazz club, open since 1933.