Album Notes

When Perry Michael Allen arrived in Italy for the first time, he was touring as music director for the legendary superstar soul singer, Al Green. When they took to the stage at the San Remo Blues Festival, Allen felt an immediate kinship with the Italian audience, and since then Allen has called Italy his home, making an enormous contribution to the renaissance of soul music in Europe.
A singer, pianist, musical arranger and producer, the multi-talented Michael Allen was born and raised in Memphis, Tennessee, the heartland of soul music. He took the first steps of his professional musical career in Memphis, working with the two greatest labels of the R&B / Soul music genre – Stax Records and Willie Mitchell's
HI Studios.
Early in his career, he had the unique opportunity to study the art of record making with some of Soul and R&B’s greatest musicians. Under the wings of master producer Willie Mitchell and renowned songwriter David Porter (of "Soul Man" fame), Allen sharpened his songwriting and producting skills and later became an artist/writer/arranger for both Stax and HI.
He has performed, recorded and arranged for the absolute greatest names in the history of soul,
Including The Sweet Inspirations, Anita Ward, Wilson Pickett, The Memphis Horns, Albert King, The Soul Children, The HI Rhythm Section,Ollie and the Nightingales,Carla and Rufus Thomas and others.
During his first term at Stax Records, he recorded the Sweet Inspirations, the legendary backup singers of Aretha Franklin and Elvis Presley, was songwriter/arranger/vocalist with the Stax group KILO, and also recorded David Porter's album "Sweat and Love", accompanying Porter at the famous WattStax concert which was the subject of the groundbreaking film of the same name.
In addition to his own records for Stax, HI and other record companies, Allen penned three hits for
Al Green: "Hanging On", "So Good To Be Here", and
"Soon As I Get Home". Allen also worked as Green's tour and musical director, appearing with Green on a host of television programs including The Tonight Show, The Late Show, Soul Train and Midnight Special. At HI, Allen also recorded and arranged for Syl Johnson, Ann Peebles, Detroit Emerals, Otis Clay and O.V. Wright, to name a few.

Allen also worked with Fame Records (Muscle Shoals) and Stax/Fantasy records, coordinated, directed and performed as key-boardist/vocalist on Anita Ward's "Ring My Bell" tour. Allen later was called to work as producer/arranger/musician for Willie Mitchells' new record label "Waylo". For the Waylo label, he arranged and recorded the works of Lynn White, Lanier&Co., the European group Wet Wet Wet (The Memphis Sessions), David Hudson's album "Night & Day" as well as his own singles "Music All The Time", "Turn On The Music" and "Highway".

In Italy he has written, produced and recorded his own work, including the CD "Deep Inside" for Irma Molto Jazz, and "On The Radio", "Push Push Push" and other singles for Tabloid/Polygram. His most recent work is the album "Simple Things", recorded for his new label Nugen Music....and, the story continues …