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Hear Allan Harris Explore The Life of a Black Cowboy, on Singers Unlimited

courtesy of the artist

Allan Harris is a classic crooner with considerable range. His new album, Nobody’s Gonna Love You Better, offers an extraordinary mix of songs from across the spectrum, from standards (“I Remember You,” “Moody’s Mood for Love”) to rock songs by Jimi Hendrix and Steely Dan to his own soulful originals.

He's also created a musical, Cross That River — the story of an ex-slave who became one of the black cowboys in the Wild West. Many of the cattle drovers after the Civil War were black, but we’ve rarely ever seen them in movies.

Allan remembers and celebrates them in Cross That River, playing through December at the 59E59 theatre. He starred there a couple of seasons ago, with Cyrille Aimee and Charenee Wade, in a show about the legendary nightclub Café Society. 

Shirazette Tinnin was the drummer in that show, and is now Allan’s musical director. She played cajón when she and pianist Miki Hayama joined Allan to perform some of the songs from Cross That River, and talk about the show, on a recent Singers Unlimited.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nI9jeXIxpwo

Michael Bourne, who died on August 21, 2022, was a presence on the air at WBGO between the end of 1984 and the start of 2022 when he retired from full-time hosting duty. He is the host of the Singers Unlimited Podcast by WBGO Studios. Previously, he hosted the popular Singers Unlimited (1985-2022). He also hosted the equally popular Blues Break for several years. Michael is a senior contributor to Down Beat, with the magazine since 1969. Doctor Bourne earned a PhD in Theatre from Indiana University -- which comes in handy when he's a theatre critic for the WBGO Journal.