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To family members of David Allyn the singer:
Hello, I happened to stumble on this genealogy forum while doing a search for David Allyn material of which there is quite little, at least in cd form.
Though I am not a relative of Mr. Allyn's I have been a fan and admirer for 25 years and was troubled to learn that he has distanced himself from his family.
I have never stuck my nose into a forum like this before but would like to pass a couple of personal observations to you.
I first heard David Allyn's name in the 70's. I was working my first real job, in love for the first time and wanted to impress my love with a night on the town in NYC.
We saw David at a now defunct Greenwich Village club named Harpers. He was wonderful. His voice was heartfelt and especially strong on ballads. And his manner was humble and appreciative in a way that drew me to him. I've been a fan ever since. I bought and still own every album of David's I could find.
Then a few years later, still in the 70's I heard he was appearing in of all places the Swiss Consulate building in mid town Manhattan. They set up the basement to look like a club and one weekend David was the featured singer. The audience for the first set was sparse. Only a handful of tables. There was one main table with some local radio celebrities and friends of David's. Other than that there was only a handful of tables occupied, one of them by me and a friend. I was embarrassed by such a poor turnout and how hard it must have been for David or anyone to perform in such a large room before so few people. David was just as strong a singer, very personal, and still had this sense of humility for lack of a better word that drew me to him. At the end of his first set the few people in the audience filed out and a few more came in for the second set. If I remember correctly I was among the only table that stayed for the second set except maybe for the table of his friends, the radio people. As David was preparing to sing "The Folks Who Live on the Hill" one of his signature tunes, and a tune he had sung in the first set he paused, looked over to me and my girl, and asked us if it was ok if he sang this song a second time. Can you imagine a Sinatra doing that? He was so gracious and I was such a young pup, well I was sitting on air the rest of the night. At the end of the second set my friend and I started for the exit. David was sitting with his associates but popped up and met us at the exit. He introduced himself, shook hands, and sent us into the cold Manhattan night. But I was warm all over and never forgot that evening or the first time for that matter.
Everything I've ever read about this man has been favorable. I know he has had personal problems during his life but I just can't imagine that the man whose music and personality I so much admire could have removed himself from his family so completely. Life is hard to understand.
Two things I would mention...One, if I had to find David I would try to find Johnny Mandel and Gene Lees. The former worked with David on some of his best albums. And the latter is a writer/musician known for his contacts with singers/musicians of David's order.
And two, I have never seen this documented anywhere but I think David has some Italian blood in him. I seem to remember something about him being born in Hartford of Italian heritage and his name was a stage name. I distinctly remember that he used an Italian phrase or two during his act at the Swiss Consulate and I remember he referred to himself as being a Neopolitano (from Naples). But I certainly did not get that impression from the things I read in this forum about him. I also think he may have had a drug problem in the 60s that led him to work in the rehab field.
Sorry, for butting in since I am on the outside in this discussion.
Larry
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