David Allyn: Sensitive Singer

Two fantastic late-1950s albums are now available on one CD from Fresh Sound

In 1957, big-band singer David Allyn walked out of the Clinton Prison in Dannemora, N.Y., after serving two years for forging drug prescriptions. He had no job, no money and zero prospects. On the outside, time had passed him by. His last recording before his incarceration had taken place in 1949, backed by pianist Paul Smith’s quartet. Then came his drug habit to self-treat PTSD after Army service in North Africa during World War II.