His big break came in 1957 when Howlin' Wolf invited Allison to the stage. Freddie King took him under his wing and after King got his big record deal, Allison took over King's house-band gig on Chicago's west side. He worked the club circuit throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s and recorded his first single in 1965. He was signed to the Delmark Records label in 1967 and released his debut album, Love Me Mama, the following year. A well-received set at the 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Festival resulted in his being asked to perform there each of the next three years. He also toured nationwide and, in 1972, was signed to Motown Records, one of the few blues artists to do so. By the mid 1970s he began touring Europe and moved to France in 1977. Allison was known for his powerful concert performances, lengthy soulful guitar solos and crowd walking with his Gibson Les Paul. Allison lived briefly during this period in Peoria, Illinois, where he signed briefly with Rumble Records, resulting in two live recordings, "Gonna Be a Live One in Here Tonight", produced by Bill Knight and "Power Wire Blues", produced by George Faber and Jeffrey P. Hess. Allison played the "bar circuit" in the USA during this period, spending eight months per year in Europe at high-profile venues, including the Montreux Jazz Festival. In 1992, he played as a duo with legendary French rock'n'roll star Johnny Hallyday for 18 shows in Paris, also playing during the intermission.
Allison's manager, and European agent, Thomas Ruf, founded the label Ruf Records in 1994. Signing with Ruf Records, Allison launched a comeback in association with Alligator Records. Alligator founder Bruce Iglauer convinced Allison to return to the United States. The album Soul Fixin' Man was recorded and released in 1994, and Allison toured the U.S. and Canada. He won four W.C. Handy Awards in 1994. With the James Solberg Band backing him, non-stop touring and the release of Blue Streak (featuring song "Cherry Red Wine"), Allison continued to earn more Handys and gain wider recognition. He scored a host of Living Blues Awards and was featured on the cover pages of major blues publications.
In the middle of his summer of 1997 tour, Allison checked into a hospital for dizziness and loss of coordination. It was discovered that he had a tumor on his lung that had metastasized to his brain. In and out of a coma, Allison died on August 12, 1997, five days before his 58th birthday, in Madison, Wisconsin. His album Reckless had just been released. His son Bernard Allison, at one time a member of his band, is now a solo recording artist.
He was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1998. In 2000, the Chicago Sun-Times called him "The Bruce Springsteen of the blues".
Allison is buried at Washington Memory Gardens Cemetery in Homewood, Illinois.
1969 - Love Me Mama
1973 - Bad News Is Coming
1974 - Luther's Blues
1977 - Love Me Papa
1977 - Standing At The Crossroad
1979 - Live in Paris
1979 - Power Wire Blues
1980 - Time
1983 - Serious Blues, Live At Montreux
1983 - Southside Safari
1984 - Life Is A Bitch
1985 - Here I Come
1987 - Rich Man
1987 - Serious
1989 - Live '89 - Let's Try It Again
1991 - More From Berlin
1994 - Hand Me Down My Moonshine
1994 - Soul Fixin' Man
1995 - Blue Streak
1995 - Sweet Home Chicago (Compilations)
1996 - Live At The House Of Blues (1996-09-06 Sunset Strip)
1996 - The Motown Years 1972-1976 (Compilations)
1996 - Where Have You Been (Live In Montreux 1976-1994)
1997 - Reckless
1999 - Live In Chicago
2002 - Pay It Forward
2007 - Underground
2009 - Songs From The Road
