Richard Allen
Born: Memphis, Tennessee (12 August, 1932-June 30 2002)
Nick names: Pistol
Instruments: The studio drum-kit made up of Ludwig, Slingerland, Rogers, and Gretsch.
"Pistol" Joined forces at Motown in 1962 under his mentor, the great Benny Benjamin.A jazz drummer by trade,pistol quickly learned to adapt his style to "The Motown Sound".
In the trio of main drummers at Hitsville, Pistol was known for being a master of the shuffle and producers knew they could always rely on his rock steady sense of time, like on the 1966 recording of Jr. Walker and the Allstars "How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You)"
In Motown's "Golden Era" of the mid to late 60’s Pistol was the drummer on most of the big Holland-Dozier-Holland hits.
Outside of Motown, Pistol has recorded with jazz pianist Jaki Byard and R&B performers The Dramatics, Leslie Uggams and Johnnie Taylor.Pistol also played a major role in the documentary Standing in the Shadows of Motown.