Johnny Allen (arranger)

Johnny Allen (September 20, 1917 – January 29, 2014) was an American R&B pianist and arranger who worked for both Motown and Stax Records and received a Grammy Award with Isaac Hayes for his arrangement of the "Theme from Shaft".

He was born in Uchee, Alabama, and grew up in Chicago before moving to Detroit in 1936. A self-taught pianist, his chief influence was Earl Hines. From the early 1940s, he worked as musical director at the Club Congo, a nightclub in the basement of the Norwood Hotel, where he led a 12-piece band that played at dances and accompanied visiting acts such as Billie Holiday and the Mills Brothers.

He first worked for Motown in 1959, and wrote arrangements for the Temptations, Stevie Wonder, and the Supremes among others. He later worked for the Stax label, working with leading musicians such as the Staple Singers, the Dramatics and Isaac Hayes. After arranging strings and horns on Hayes' album Hot Buttered Soul, the pair worked together on Shaft, and at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972 jointly won the award for Best Instrumental Arrangement for "Theme From Shaft".

Johnny Allen

Johnny Allen may refer to:

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Johnny Allen (baseball)

John Thomas Allen (September 30, 1904 – March 29, 1959) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Brooklyn Dodgers, and New York Giants.

Born in Lenoir, North Carolina, Allen spent part of his youth in the Baptist orphanage in Thomasville, North Carolina, and he attended Thomasville High School. Allen reached the Yankees in an unusual way. While working as a bellhop in a hotel, he was told to take some fans to the room of Yankee scout Paul Krichell. Allen told Krichell that he was a pitcher, and the scout arranged a tryout. Allen was an immediate success for the Yankees, debuting in 1932 with a 17–4 record and a 3.70 ERA for the world champions. He was less stellar in that year's World Series, starting Game 4 and leaving after giving up three runs off five hits in just two-thirds of an inning. He continued to post decent records for the Yankees, but a sore arm and his constant demands for more money threatened his career. For these reasons, he was dealt to the Indians before the 1936 season.

Johnny Allen (racing driver)

Johnny Allen (born September 17, 1934, in Greenville, South Carolina) was a NASCAR Grand National (now Sprint Cup) driver from 1955-1967. His won one race in his career, the 1962 Myers Brothers 200 at the Bowman-Gray Stadium on June 16, 1962. Allen filled in for Jack Smith in the 1961 Volunteer 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway and won the race, but the win was credited to Smith because Smith had started the race. He scored 19 career top-five and 61 top-ten finishes.

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