Look up allan in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Allan may refer to any one of the following:

Places[link]

• Allan, Saskatchewan, Canada
• Allan, the Allaine river's lower course, in France
• Allan, Drôme, town in France

People[link]

• James Allan (disambiguation)
• Keith Allan (disambiguation)
• Lewis Allan, pseudonym of American lyricist Abel Metropolitan

Other[link]

• Allan, a Clan Grant split (or sept)
• Ahlawat or Allan, an ethnic clan in India
• Allan (film), a 1966 film directed by Donald Shebib
• "Allan", a 1988 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer
• Allan of Rotterdam, a former train and tram manufacturer in the Netherlands

See also[link]

• All pages beginning with "Allan"
• All pages with titles containing "Allan"
• Alan (disambiguation)
• Alan (given name)
• Alleine
• Allen (disambiguation)

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

Allan Simonsen

Simonsen playing for Vejle
Personal information
Full name	Allan Rodenkam Simonsen
Date of birth	(1952-12-15) 15 December 1952 (age 59)
Place of birth	Vejle, Denmark
Height	1.65 m (5 ft 5 in)
Playing position	Striker
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1971–1972	Vejle BK	42	(16[1])
1972–1979	Borussia Mönchengladbach	178	(76[2])
1979–1982	Barcelona	98	(31[3])
1982–1983	Charlton Athletic	16	(9[3])
1983–1989	Vejle BK	166	(70[1])
Total		500	(202)
National team
1971–1972	Denmark U-21	6	(0[4])
1972–1986	Denmark	55	(20[4])
Teams managed
1991–1994	Vejle BK
1994–2001	Faroe Islands
2001–2004	Luxembourg
2011–	FC Fredericia (General manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Allan Rodenkam Simonsen (born 15 December 1952) is a former Danish footballer and manager. He most prominently played for German team Borussia Mönchengladbach, winning the 1975 and 1979 UEFA Cups, as well as for Barcelona from Spain, winning the 1982 Cup Winners' Cup. Allan Simonsen is the only footballer to have scored in the European Cup, UEFA Cup, and Cup Winners' Cup finals, and he was named 1977 European Footballer of the Year.

For the Denmark national football team, Simonsen was capped 55 times, scoring 20 goals. He represented Denmark at the 1972 Summer Olympics, 1984 European Championship and 1986 World Cup tournaments. He was voted into the Danish Football Hall of Fame in November 2008.

Club career[link]

Born in Vejle, Simonsen started playing football with Vejle FC, before he joined the youth team of local top-flight club Vejle BK (VB) in 1963.^[5] He made his senior debut for VB on 24 March 1971 in a 3–1 home win against Karlskoga FF.^[6] He won the 1971 and 1972 Danish championship with the club, as well as the 1972 Danish Cup to complete The Double. Following an impressive three goals in six matches at the 1972 Summer Olympics, Simonsen moved to Germany to play professionally for defending German Bundesliga champions Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Borussia Mönchengladbach[link]

In his first two seasons with Borussia Mönchengladbach, Simonsen had a hard time,^[5] as he only played a combined 17 games and scored two goals. However, he was a part of the team which won the 1972–73 German Cup trophy. He broke into the starting line-up for the 1974–75 season. He played all 34 games of the season, and scored 18 goals as Mönchengladbach won the Bundesliga championship. Simonsen also scored 10 goals in 12 games in the international 1974–75 UEFA Cup competition, including two goals in the 5–1 final victory against FC Twente. In the following season, Simonsen scored 16 goals as Mönchengladbach won the 1975–76 season. He scored four goals in six games of the international 1975–76 European Cup competition, before Mönchengladbach were eliminated in the quarter-finals by Spanish team Real Madrid on the away goals rule.^[2]

1977 was the greatest year in Simonsen's career. He scored 12 goals to help Mönchengladbach win its third Bundesliga title in a row in the 1975–76 season. In the 1976–77 European Cup, Simonsen helped Mönchengladbach to the 1977 European Cup Final against English team Liverpool.^[2] In the final, Simonsen scored a memorable powerful long range goal to level the game at 1–1, but Mönchengladbach eventually lost 3–1.^[5] He was subsequently named the 1977 European Footballer of the Year, as the first Danish player in history. The race for the award was tight, and Simonsen squeezed past English midfielder Kevin Keegan by three points and French midfielder Michel Platini by four points to win the prestigious prize. The win was notable, in that Simonsen's native Denmark was not among the top footballing nations in the 1970s, leaving him little room to impress at the international tournaments.^[7]

In the following two Bundesliga seasons, Simonsen continued his prolific goalscoring, as Mönchengladbach finished 2nd and 8th respectively. He won another international trophy with Mönchengladbach in 1979, when he scored eight goals in eight games to guide the club to the final games of the 1978–79 UEFA Cup. He scored the deciding goal in the 2–1 1979 UEFA Cup Final win against Red Star Belgrade.^[2] Simonsen had been approached by Spanish club FC Barcelona in 1978, but Mönchengladbach refused to let him go. Instead, Simonsen waited for his contract to expire, and moved to FC Barcelona in 1979, rejecting offers from Hamburger SV, Juventus, and several Arabian clubs.^[8]

Barcelona[link]

Simonsen spent three successful seasons with Barcelona.^[5] In his first Barcelona season, Simonsen was the top goal scorer of the team with 10 goals in 32 games,^[9] as Barcelona finished in fourth place in the 1979–80 La Liga season. The following season saw several new players at Barcelona, and the club won the 1981 Spanish Cup. Simonsen's 10 goals saw him as third top goalscorer behind new players Quini (20) and Bernd Schuster (11),^[10] as Barcelona finished in fifth place in the 1980–81 La Liga. Simonsen was second goal scorer behind Quini,^[11] as the club finished second in the 1981–82 La Liga. He also helped Barcelona reach the final of the continental 1981–82 European Cup Winners' Cup competition. In the 2–1 final victory against Standard Liège,^[12] Simonsen scored the deciding goal on a header to help Barcelona lift the trophy.^[5]

Charlton Athletic[link]

When Barcelona signed Argentinian forward Diego Maradona in 1982, Spanish league restrictions meant Simonsen was to compete with Maradona and Bernd Schuster for only two places allowed for foreign players in each starting line-up. Simonsen saw it as a personal insult, and asked Barcelona for his contract to be annulled.^[8] He made a shock move to English Second Division side Charlton Athletic for £300,000 in October 1982.^[13] He rejected offers from Real Madrid and Tottenham Hotspur, in order to play for a club with less stress and attention.^[8] Despite scoring nine times in 16 appearances, the club had trouble funding his transfer and wages after three months, and he was put up for sale.^[13] Simonsen then chose to return to his childhood club VB in 1983.

Vejle BK[link]

He missed the last half of the 1984 season for VB because of an injury he sustained at the 1984 European Championship, but the club managed to win the 1984 Danish championship without him. He returned as a profile of the top-flight Danish 1st Division, but never reached his former form.^[5] Simonsen retired from football in 1989 at age 37, and played his last game for VB in November 1989. He played a total 282 games and scored 104 goals, including 208 games and 89 goals in the league, for Vejle Boldklub.^[6]

International career[link]

He debuted for the Danish national team under manager Rudi Strittich in the July 1972 friendly match against Iceland. He scored two goals as Denmark won 5-2, and Simonsen was included in the Danish squad for the 1972 Summer Olympics. At the Olympics, he scored three goals in the first three matches to help Denmark advance beyond the first group stage. In the second group stage, Simonsen ran out of steam and he was substituted at half time in two of the last three games as Denmark were eliminated.^[4]

He played a crucial part for the Danish national team under manager Sepp Piontek, in Denmark's qualifying campaign for the 1984 European Championship. Denmark led their qualifying group with a single point over second placed England before the two teams met at England's home ground Wembley Stadium in September 1983. Simonsen scored one of the most important Danish goals ever, as he converted a penalty kick against English goalkeeper Peter Shilton.^[5] The 1-0 win eventually secured the Danish national team qualification for their first international tournament since the 1972 Olympic Games, and the first European Championship participation since the 1964 tournament. It effectively ended England's hopes of qualification for the tournament.^[14] He subsequently finished third in the vote for the 1983 European Footballer of the Year award.^[15]

The 1984 European Championship main tournament was a short experience for Simonsen, as he broke his leg in a challenge by Yvon Le Roux in Denmark's first match against France.^[5] Even without Simonsen, Denmark reached the semi-finals. He was once more a part of the Danish national team at the 1986 World Cup, Denmark's first World Cup participation. He only played a single match at the tournament, coming on as a substitute against West Germany, as younger players had surpassed him. He played a farewell match against Germany in September 1986 before ending his national team career.^[4]

Simonsen played a total 55 games for the Danish national team and scored 20 goals, according to the Danish Football Association.^[4] However, some sources chose to include Simonsen's appearance in a February 1981 charity match, to tally his national team career as 21 goals in 56 games.^[5] The match was Italy vs. Europe for the benefit of the Irpinia earthquake victims. Simonsen started the game, scored a goal, and was substituted at half time as Europe won 3-0.^[16]

Managing career[link]

Following his retirement, Simonsen went on to coach his former club Vejle Boldklub from 1991 to 1994. During his time at the club, VB were relegated from the new top-flight Danish Superliga to the now second-tier Danish 1st Division. He later coached the national teams of the Faroe Islands from 1994 to 2001 and Luxembourg from 2001 to 2004.^[5]

Club statistics[link]

^[17]

National team statistics[link]

^[17][18]

Career statistics[link]

Honours[link]

Domestic

• Danish championship : 1971, 1972 and 1984 with Vejle Boldklub
• Danish Cup : 1972 with Vejle Boldklub
• German Cup : 1973 with Borussia M'gladbach
• German Bundesliga : 1975, 1976 and 1977 with Borussia M'gladbach
• Spanish Cup : 1981 with FC Barcelona

European

• UEFA Cup : 1975 and 1979 with Borussia M'gladbach
• Cup Winners' Cup : 1982 with FC Barcelona
• European Footballer of the Year : 1977

International goals[link]

Scores and results list Denmark's goal tally first.^[4]

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	3 July 1972	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik, Iceland	Iceland	2–2	5–2	Friendly
2.	3 July 1972	Laugardalsvöllur, Reykjavik, Iceland	Iceland	4–2	5–2	Friendly
3.	27 August 1972	Drei Flüsse Stadion, Passau, Germany	Brazil	1–0	3–2	1972 Summer Olympics
4.	27 August 1972	Drei Flüsse Stadion, Passau, Germany	Brazil	3–2	3–2	1972 Summer Olympics
5.	29 August 1972	Rosenaustadion, Augsburg, Germany	Iran	2–0	4–0	1972 Summer Olympics
6.	3 September 1974	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Indonesia	4–0	9–0	Friendly
7.	23 May 1976	Tsirion Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus	Cyprus	1–1	5–1	1978 World Cup qualification
8.	1 May 1977	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Poland	1–1	1–2	1978 World Cup qualification
9.	15 June 1977	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Sweden	2–1	2–1	1972–77 Nordic Championship
10.	20 September 1978	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	England	1–2	3–4	1980 European Championship qualification
11.	6 June 1979	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Northern Ireland	3–0	4–0	1980 European Championship qualification
12.	21 May 1980	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Spain	1–1	2–2	Friendly
13.	19 November 1980	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Luxembourg	4–0	4–0	1982 World Cup qualification
14.	15 April 1981	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Romania	1–1	2–1	Friendly
15.	26 August 1981	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Iceland	2–0	3–0	Friendly
16.	26 August 1981	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Iceland	3–0	3–0	Friendly
17.	1 June 1983	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Hungary	3–1	3–1	1984 European Championship qualification
18.	21 September 1983	Wembley Stadium, London, England	England	1–0	1–0	1984 European Championship qualification
19.	12 October 1983	Idrætsparken, Copenhagen, Denmark	Luxembourg	4–0	6–0	1984 European Championship qualification
20.	16 November 1983	Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece	Greece	2–0	2–0	1984 European Championship qualification

References[link]

External links[link]

• Danish national team profile
• (Danish) Vejle Boldklub profile
• (Spanish) Official Spanish career profile

v t e Denmark squad – 1972 Summer Olympics 1 Therkildsen 2 Ahlberg 3 Andresen 4 Røntved 5 J. Rasmussen 6 H.E. Hansen 7 J. Hansen 8 Nygaard 9 Simonsen 10 Berthelsen 11 Printzlau 12 Pedersen 13 Vonsyld 14 Ziegler 15 M. Rasmussen 16 H. Hansen 17 Bak 18 Hildebrandt 19 V. Hansen Coach: Strittich

v t e Denmark squad – UEFA Euro 1984 semi-finalists 1 Kjær 2 O. Rasmussen 3 Busk 4 M. Olsen (c) 5 Nielsen 6 Lerby 7 Bertelsen 8 J. Olsen 9 Simonsen 10 Elkjær 11 Berggreen 12 Mølby 13 Lauridsen 14 Laudrup 15 Arnesen 16 T. Rasmussen 17 Thychosen 18 Sivebæk 19 Brylle 20 Qvist Coach: Piontek

v t e Denmark squad – 1986 FIFA World Cup 1 Rasmussen 2 Sivebæk 3 Busk 4 M. Olsen (c) 5 I. Nielsen 6 Lerby 7 Mølby 8 J. Olsen 9 Berggreen 10 Elkjær Larsen 11 Laudrup 12 Bertelsen 13 Frimann 14 Simonsen 15 Arnesen 16 Qvist 17 K. Nielsen 18 Christensen 19 Eriksen 20 Bartram 21 Andersen 22 Høgh Coach: Piontek

Gary Allan
Allan performing in 2007
Background information
Birth name	Gary Allan Herzberg
Born	(1967-12-05) December 5, 1967 (age 44)
Origin	La Mirada, California, USA
Genres	Country
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals Guitar
Years active	1996–present
Labels	Decca Nashville MCA Nashville
Associated acts	Vertical Horizon Highway 101
Website	www.garyallan.com

Gary Allan Herzberg (born December 5, 1967)^[1] is an American country music artist, known professionally as Gary Allan.

Signed to Decca Records in 1996, Allan made his debut on the United States country music scene with the release of his single "Her Man", the lead-off to his gold-certified debut album Used Heart for Sale, which was released in 1996 on Decca Records. A second album, It Would Be You, followed in 1998 on Decca. Allan's third album, Smoke Rings in the Dark, was his first album for MCA Nashville (to which he has been signed ever since) and the first platinum album of his career. Its successors, Alright Guy (2001) and See If I Care (2003), were all certified platinum as well, while 2005's Tough All Over and 2007's Greatest Hits were both certified gold. A seventh studio album, Living Hard, was released later in 2007.

Overall, Allan's seven studio albums and Greatest Hits package have produced 24 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, including three that reached Number One: "Man to Man" and "Tough Little Boys" in 2003, and "Nothing On but the Radio" in 2004. Seven more of his singles have reached the Top Ten on this chart as well: "Her Man", "It Would Be You", "Right Where I Need to Be", "The One", "Best I Ever Had" (a cover of a Vertical Horizon song), "Life Ain't Always Beautiful", and "Watching Airplanes". Allan's latest album, Get Off on the Pain, was released on March 9, 2010.^[2]

Personal life[link]

Personal[link]

Gary Allan Exits Stage in NM

Gary Allan Herzberg was born and raised in La Mirada, California,^[1] to Harley and Mary Herzberg.^[3] To ensure that the family would focus on music, Allan's mother insisted that the family's guitars would always remain visible in the home. At age thirteen, Allan began playing in honky tonks with his father.^[1][4] Two years later, he was offered his first recording contract, from A&M Records, but rejected the deal. His parents wanted him to finish his education and his father felt that Allan had yet to develop his own distinctive style.^[4][5] Despite his commitment to finishing school, Allan reflects that he was rarely alert in class. "I played the bars at night, I was half asleep when I got to school. I thought sleep was what you did when you got to school."^[5]

After finishing school, he continued to play in the bars with his band, the Honky Tonk Wranglers. Many of the venues they played were packed, and promoters often tried to move them to larger clubs. The moves would have required him to stop playing some of the older country music, such as covers of George Jones songs, so Allan refused.^[4]

In 1987, Gary married his first wife, Tracy Taylor. She is the mother to his three daughters. They since divorced. He married model Danette Day on November 28, 1998 in South Carolina and they divorced in June 1999.^[6] His third ^[7] wife, Angela (whom he wed on June 5, 2001), committed suicide on October 25, 2004.^[8][9][10]

Nashville connection[link]

Allan was introduced to songwriter/producer Byron Hill on August 28, 1993 by a mutual friend and talent-scout Jim Seal, at a bar called the Lion D'or in Downey, California, where Allan was already regularly performing. Seal and Hill had asked Allan if they could showcase an unsigned act that they were developing there. Hill had arranged to bring the head of A&R from a major label to the show to see this other act perform. Allan kindly let them use his stage for the event, giving the new act the opening performance slot that night. Hill promised Gary that they would make sure the A&R person remained there to see his portion of the show. Everyone was knocked out with Allan's performance, and very impressed with his voice. From that point on, Byron Hill began sending Gary songs. Without any serious funding at the time, Hill arranged for Allan to go into Seal's small studio in California to try his vocals on some of existing demo tracks that Byron had sent to Gary from Nashville, Tennessee. Meanwhile, Hill became head of A&R at BNA Entertainment on October 29 of that same year and immediately wanted to sign Allan to BNA, but the then current roster conditions and other circumstances related to the planned restructuring of RCA/BNA Nashville stood in the way.^[11]

From demo to deal[link]

In the meantime, Allan took a job selling cars. He left a demo tape in the glove box of a car purchased by a wealthy couple. When the couple discovered that he was the singer, they wrote him a check for $12,000.^[5] This independent funding allowed Allan to go to Nashville to record some of the songs that were on that early demo tape with Byron Hill as producer.^[11] On September 11, 1995, they worked at Javelina Studios for a couple of days on the four songs that Hill immediately showed to labels. Allan's recordings brought serious responses from several labels including Mercury, RCA, and Decca.^[11] A meeting was then held at a Nashville hotel among Hill, Allan, and friend of Allan's, who was a program director for a radio station in California.^[11]

The meeting was to arrange two showcases in Los Angeles, California, to put Allan on stage at two of the radio station's regular nights at a local club. Byron arranged for staffers at the Nashville office of Decca Records to attend the first showcase held on November 1, 1995. Decca immediately wanted to sign Allan, and knowing that Byron was lining up other labels to see Gary, Decca asked them to cancel the second showcase. A rep from RCA was already booked to see the second showcase the following week, but the "bird-in-hand" deal offer was too tempting for both Byron and Gary, so they committed to the Decca offer.^[11] Decca staffer Mark Wright and Byron Hill co-produced Gary's first three albums for Decca beginning sessions on March 11, 1996 for Used Heart for Sale, then It Would Be You, both of which yielded top five singles, and later Smoke Rings in the Dark (which also included Tony Brown as a co-producer). It was during the recording of the first album that they recorded "It Must Have Been Ol' Santa Claus", as an added track to be packaged on various MCA/Decca Christmas compilations.^[11] Then Byron and Gary got a personal call from Harry Connick, Jr., the writer of the song, thanking them for the recording, during which he added a few of his New Orleans Jazz style "very cool man!" compliments. The Christmas recording has been since released on at least four compilations. The merger of Polygram, Decca, and MCA Records marked the closing of Decca and Gary was moved to MCA Records.^[11]

Career[link]

Gary Allan performing in 2006

[edit] Used Heart for Sale

His first deal, with Decca Records Nashville, produced the 1996 album Used Heart for Sale.^[1] The album was named "Best of the Month" by Stereo Review.^[12] It advanced to the top 20 of the charts, and produced a Top 10 country hit with the track "Her Man" (previously recorded by Waylon Jennings). Other tracks from the album, however, proved less successful.

[edit] It Would Be You

His second album, It Would Be You, was released in 1998. Although Allan had been writing songs since he was a teenager,^[5] he does not hesitate to bump his work from his albums in favor of those written by other songwriters he respects. For his second album, Allan replaced one of his songs with "No Judgement Day", written by Allen Shamblin. Although the song was a hidden acoustic track, radio stations began giving it heavy airplay.^[5] The song tells the story of a shopkeeper in Texas, whose children killed him in search of money. The title track of the album became Allan's second top 10 hit of the year, remaining in the top 10 after 21 weeks of radio play, "way beyond the tenure of most disposable radio hits."^[12] At the beginning of 1999, Decca Records folded, and when Allan moved to the parent label, MCA Nashville, It Would Be You was left in limbo.^[4]

Allan was labeled "Country Music's Sexy Star" by People Magazine. He also delved into the acting world in the TV mini-series Shake, Rattle, & Roll, playing the lead role of Eddie Cochran. He followed that role with a part in the CBS TV series Pensacola: Wings of Gold, but describes his acting experience as "tedious."^[5]

[edit] Smoke Rings in the Dark

In 1999, Allan released Smoke Rings in the Dark,^[1] an album he recorded while in the midst of a divorce from his second wife, Versace model Danette Day, after only seven months of marriage.^[5] Unlike his first two albums, Smoke Rings in the Dark made fuller use of background singers and stringed instruments, "resulting in a lusher, fuller sound."^[13] The new album avoided the "devil-may-care brashness" of the first two, instead presenting a tone balanced between youthful optimism and "the knowledge that some of life's experiences exact a high toll."^[13] Smoke Rings in the Dark was certified platinum, and it included two successful singles.

[edit] Alright Guy

In 2001 the album Alright Guy was released.^[1] It contained the singles "The One," "Man of Me," and "Man to Man," the latter of which became his first Billboard No. 1 hit.^[14] The same year, Allan married for the third time, to Angela, a flight attendant he met on an airplane.^[15]

[edit] See If I Care

Despite his previous success and eight years in the music business, Allan was nominated for the Country Music Association's Horizon Award, typically given to newcomers, in 2003. The same year he released his fifth album, See If I Care. Allan had to fight to keep the title, which he felt epitomized his attitude towards the music business, that he would continue to make the music that he wanted to make regardless of whether the record label chose to back him or people chose to buy the album.^[16] See If I Care included his second and third Number One singles, "Tough Little Boys" and "Nothing On but the Radio."^[14][17] "Songs About Rain" was a top 15 hit.

[edit] Tough All Over

In 2003, Allan and his wife, Angela Herzberg, moved to Tennessee from California. On October 25, 2004, Angela Herzberg committed suicide after suffering from depression and migraines. Allan initially put his career on hold, but soon turned to music to deal with the loss of his wife. This resulted in 2005's "heart-wrenchingly personal album," Tough All Over.^[15] He included several songs which he wrote or cowrote, including "Puttin' Memories Away" and "I Just Got Back from Hell," which dealt directly with his grief.^[18] Several years later, Gary discussed his wife's suicide on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

Tough All Over sold over 99,000 copies in its first week, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 and No. 1 on the magazine's Top Country Albums chart.^[18] It was subsequently certified gold by the RIAA as of December 20, 2006, and contained the top 10 singles "Best I Ever Had" (written by Vertical Horizon's Matt Scannell) and "Life Ain't Always Beautiful," co-written by country singer Cyndi Thomson (under the name Cyndi Goodman).^[19]

[edit] Greatest Hits

Gary Allan performing at Harrah's Metropolis 2010

Allan's first Greatest Hits collection was released on March 6, 2007. A Number One album on the Billboard Top Country Albums charts, the album reprised the greatest hits from his first six albums, as well as two new songs. One of these, titled "A Feelin' Like That", was co-written by David Lee Murphy and Ira Dean (the latter a former member of Trick Pony); the single peaked at #12 on the country singles charts.

[edit] Living Hard

Allan's album titled Living Hard, was released on October 23, 2007. Serving as its lead-off single was the song "Watching Airplanes," which spent more than thirty weeks on the country charts, where it reached a peak of #2 and went #1 on the Mediabase Chart. The song's music video was filmed during live concerts, including one at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado. Second single "Learning How to Bend" – co-written by Allan – quickly became another hit song, peaking at #13. The video was filmed during a live performance at the House of Blues in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Following this song is third single "She's So California," which Allan co-wrote with Jaime Hanna (of Hanna-McEuen) and Jon Randall, and it peaked at #24, becoming his first single to miss the top 20 since "Lovin' You Against My Will" in 2000.

[edit] Get Off on the Pain

Gary Allan Speaking With Fans

A new single called "Today" was released on June 12, 2009. It served as the lead-off single to Allan's studio album, Get Off on the Pain, which was released on March 9, 2010.

Title track, "Get Off on the Pain", is the album's second single. It debuted at #42 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the highest-debuting single of his career.^[2]

"Kiss Me When I'm Down" the album's third single. released to radio in 2010. It debuted at #52 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.

Political views[link]

In 2003, Allan told CMT that he believed Republican candidate, Arnold Schwarzenegger would be the best governor because he is not driven by money.^[20]

Sound[link]

Allan's voice is described as "raspy and unpolished."^[4] The New York Times describes his music as "elegant, often deadpan songs [that] tend toward manly understatement."^[21] His sound is heavily influenced by the Bakersfield scene, especially Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. He prefers this sound to that of the more pop country that is prevalent on country radio, because "the songs have got to have soul, have real meaning....Country music is...what happens during the week. Rock 'n roll is about what happens at the weekend."^[5] Because his sound is different from many of the current crop of country singers, Allan has at times had difficulty getting radio to play his singles. He says he has to "walk a real fine line" to "make sure that I get traditional stuff on the radio."^[4]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• Used Heart for Sale (1996)
• It Would Be You (1998)
• Smoke Rings in the Dark (1999)
• Alright Guy (2001)
• See If I Care (2003)
• Tough All Over (2005)
• Greatest Hits (2007)
• Living Hard (2007)
• Get Off on the Pain (2010)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Gary Allan Official Website
• Official Gary Allan UMG Nashville Artist Page
• Gary Allan at the Internet Movie Database