Bernard made his first appearance on record at age 13, when he played on a live LP his father recorded in Peoria, IL. “When we moved to Peoria, Dad came home preparing to do his live album in Peoria. I hooked up the amplifier and guitar in the basement and started playing his first record. Love Me Momma note for note. He freaked out and said tonight you’re gonna record with me. That was my first recording; I played ‘You Don’t Love Me No More’ and ‘Sweet Home Chicago’.” Bernard Allison totes the same smokin’ six string shooter that his late father Luther Allison assaulted the blues with. Bernard is blessed with his fathers soulful voice, spiritual devotion and a musical freedom, which experiments with the blues. Born in Chicago on November 26th 1965, he was the youngest of nine children. Bernard was first introduced to the roots of black music and the art of the electric guitar by his father, the late great Luther Allison. Like Ken Griffey Jr., hanging out in baseball locker rooms as a youth, Luther’s son was a kid running on stage throughout the bands set. Experiences like that profoundly affect ones aspirations. “That’s when I decided that I wanted to be up there with him. I think I was seven.” “I didn’t start to play until I was ten years of age”, Bernard recalled. “I picked up the guitar and listened to my Dads records.” While Luther was absent, his record collection played a major role in shaping his sons direction. Bernard listened to his dads influences like Magic Sam, Otis Rush, T-Bone Walker, Lightnin’ Hopkins and B.B. King. He was also influenced by the next generation that followed; Stevie Ray Vaughan, Johnny Winter and Jimi Hendrix.