John Allison and the Connecticut Folkswingers

As a singer and collector of musical Americana, John Allison has delighted thousands with his programs of American folk ballads. Originally heard on radio in a group called "The Jubileers", he later organized "The American Folk Singers" and, still later, a trio known as "The Allisons." His recordings and record albums have been praised by historians and record reviewers alike. The album "Ballads of the American Revolution," brought him recognition by the Library of Congress as a conspicuous researcher in the realm of early American ballads. John is a true son of the Hudson Valley. His ancestors were river-dwellers of Dutch and English descent from pre-Revolutionary times. Before him, his father was singularly gifted in remembering folk songs and jingles which he had heard as a boy along the broad waters of the North River. From the elder Allison came American ballads and homespun songs, some in Dutch, the first language of the Valley. This material formed the nucleus of the John Allison collection.