Barry Allen

Barry Allen was one of the key figures in Edmonton’s rock and recording history, a singer, guitarist, producer, engineer, and studio owner whose career stretched from the early 1960s into the final year of his life. Born Barry Allen Rasmussen on July 29, 1945, he came out of Edmonton’s fertile early rock scene, first singing and playing guitar in small groups while still in high school. After two years on the local circuit, he joined Wes Dakus and The Rebels, one of Western Canada’s most important instrumental rock groups.

Allen’s solo career grew out of the Rebels’ connection with legendary New Mexico producer Norman Petty, best known for his work with Buddy Holly and The Crickets. Petty recognized Allen’s lead vocal ability and helped establish him not only as a member of The Rebels, but as a recording artist in his own right. In 1965, Allen signed with Capitol Records in Canada and Dot Records in the United States. That same year, he was voted Canada’s Most Promising Male Vocalist by readers of RPM, an honour that helped position him as one of the country’s rising young rock and pop performers.

Allen’s Capitol debut album, Goin’ Places, was first published in March 1966. Produced by Norm Petty, with Canadian album production by Paul White, the album collected early singles and stage favourites, including 'It’s Alright With Me Now', 'Easy Come, Easy Go', 'Memphis', 'Louie Louie', and 'Sweets For My Sweet'. Capitol’s own notes presented him as a young Edmonton singer moving quickly from regional promise to national attention, with television appearances, a growing fan base, and strong support from Canadian radio.

Only a few months later, Allen followed with his second album, Lovedrops, first published in June 1966. Its title track became his breakthrough hit, reaching No. 1 on both Edmonton Top 40 stations for more than five weeks before spreading across the country. The single was also named a “Battle Winner” on Toronto’s CHUM, drew radio reports from Regina, Halifax, Montreal, Kingston, and Vancouver, and began showing up on charts in the United States. With his strong, clean voice, sharp pop instincts, and roots in the Prairie rock circuit, Allen occupied a place between early Canadian rock and the more polished pop-rock sound that emerged later in the decade.

After his Capitol years, Allen continued recording and remained closely tied to Alberta’s music community. His final project with Norman Petty appeared in 1969 on the Canadian Barry label. In 1970, he released a self-titled album on MCA Records, produced by Randy Bachman and recorded at RCA Mid-America Studio in Chicago. The album brought Allen into a broader pop-rock and folk-rock setting, with material by Randy Bachman, Chad Allan, John Sebastian, Ron Rault, Mavis McCauley, Jim Lewis, Paul Leka, and Shelley Pinz, and with musicians including Jim Lewis, Al Mix, Miles Jackson, Paul Burton, Wes Dakus, Ed Gilchrist, John Lacey, and Lorne Peet. Around the same period, Allen also hosted the Calgary television program Come Together, which featured Canadian bands along with his own group, Cheyenne Winter.

By the early 1970s, Allen had moved into a heavier rock setting as rhythm guitarist and vocalist with Painter, the Edmonton-connected band formed from the remnants of 49th Parallel. Painter’s self-titled album was released in 1973 in the United States on Elektra Records, with 'West Coast Woman' becoming the group’s best-known single. The band’s hard rock sound, twin-guitar attack, and major-label push gave Allen another important chapter in Canadian rock history, separate from his earlier solo pop success.

Allen’s influence, however, extended well beyond his own recordings. Over the following decades, he became a central behind-the-scenes figure in Alberta music as a producer, engineer, mentor, and studio owner, working at various studios and later through his own Homestead Recorders in Edmonton. For many Alberta musicians, Barry Allen was not only a familiar name from the 1960s, but a trusted person behind the board, helping document and shape the work of other artists.

Interest in Allen’s early recordings continued into the 2000s and 2010s. In 2012, Shawn Nagy’s fantastic Super Oldies label issued Clovis Collection, a two-CD set gathering Allen’s original material along with unreleased recordings. The release was celebrated with a sold-out concert at Century Casino in Edmonton on March 10, 2012, reuniting Allen with former Rebels bandmates Stu Mitchell, Dennis Paul, and Gerry Dere for their first performance together in more than two decades. Stereo reissues of Goin’ Places and Love Drops followed, helping restore Allen’s 1960s catalogue to circulation.

In his later years, Allen continued to perform occasionally with the New Rebels and returned to solo recording with Speed Of Dark, released in 2019 on Royalty Records. Produced by Allen and recorded at Homestead Recorders in Edmonton, the album became a final statement from an artist who had lived nearly every side of the music business: frontman, guitarist, television host, band member, studio engineer, producer, and keeper of Edmonton’s rock and roll memory.

Barry Allen died on April 4, 2020, at the age of 74. His legacy remains tied to the rise of Canadian rock and pop in the 1960s, the Edmonton and Alberta music scenes, the Norman Petty/Clovis recording connection, Painter’s early 1970s hard rock chapter, and the many artists he supported from behind the studio console.

-Robert Williston