Joe Allison

Early life

Joe Allison was born in McKinney, Texas in 1924. He attended East Van Zandt elementary school in Fort Worth, Texas, followed by McKinney Texas Junior High and high school in Denison, Texas. He graduated high school in 1939 and attended junior college in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. In 1944, he worked at KMAC in San Antonio, Texas. He became an associate of Tex Ritter's, serving as emcee for Ritter's Canadian and American tour in 1945. The next year, he wrote "When You Leave, Don't Slam the Door" for Ritter, which became Allison's first number one hit. In 1976, he was inducted into the Disc Jockey Hall of Fame and two years later, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.