Lee Allen – Walking With Mr. Lee

I’m sitting here with my headphones on and listening to this instrumental, Walking With Mr. Lee. This one makes me feel like I’m walking down a street in the 1950s, flushed with money. Not every classic needs a big chorus or a star singer; sometimes it’s a great musician taking a walk and inviting us all to follow…and follow I will. 

Allen grew up in Denver after being born in Pittsburg, Kansas, and headed to New Orleans on a combined athletics and music scholarship to Xavier University in the mid-1940s. He fell straight into the city’s music scene, working alongside Dave Bartholomew’s crew with Red Tyler, Earl Palmer, and company. He worked with the best, and that included Fats Domino (Allen played on many of his records), Lloyd Price, Huey “Piano” Smith, Professor Longhair, The Blasters, The Stray Cats, Allen Toussaint, The Rolling Stones, and, crucially, Little Richard’s 1955-1956 Specialty singles that were full of Allen’s saxophone.

So Mr. Allen wasn’t a guy who came out of nowhere. He rarely showed off; he guided the band, nudging Fats Domino forward, egging Little Richard on, and making every garage band probably think, “we need a sax.” As Chuck Berry’s guitar was so important to the 1950s, Lee Allen’s sax was in the thick of it as well.

I found a 1991 video featuring Lee Allen, Boots Randolph, Sil Austin, Hans & Candy Dulfer, and it’s definitely worth watching. Walking With Mr. Lee did become a minor hit, and it was played on American Bandstand constantly. The song passes my smile test…because when I hear it, I’m happy.

Lee Allen on sax with the Blaster.

No lyrics needed…just put some headphones on and enjoy.

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

24 thoughts on “Lee Allen – Walking With Mr. Lee”

  1. Pingback: Lee Allen – Walking With Mr. Lee – MobsterTiger

  3. Great stuff Max. I do remember this song. But knowing his name via his resume, I still wouldn’t have been able to name Lee as the artist. That clip with Lee and Boots et al is something I would love to listen too, quite the collection of talent there!

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  4. Both great songs. Will have to listen to the collection of sax players later, I’m just on a short break from work now. Phil Alvin has a great voice. Good stuff.

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  6. Yep that’s a happy song. Conjures up pictures of some happy guy in a suit and hat on head leaving the highrise office with a spring in his step, all in B&W in some ’50s comedy movie…

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      3. I knew about Big Joe but they brought Lee to my attention. Funny on that clip of the Blasters. Some more brotherly rifts with Dave not being there. I though that happened later but hard to keep track of all things music. I was blown away about how good Hollywood Fats is. Another guy who would have been up on Lee would have been Garth Hudson. He loved all those old sax guys

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