Allen Shadow

Born in the Bronx, Allen Shadow was a critically-acclaimed poet who turned jounalist, pr man. His music career took him through a ten-year stint as a Nashville songwriter before returning to his urban roots and releasing his debut artist album, "King Kong Serenade." Shadow's new song video, "Miss America" captures the raw richness of the nation with powerful imagery that never lets up. The song drives us cross country with a sexual undercurrent that is palpable. View it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBk2fI_ozy0 and visit allenshadow.com and allenshadow.wordpress.com.

Shadow's new song video, "Miss America" captures the raw richness of the nation with powerful imagery that never lets up. The song drives us cross country with a sexual undercurrent that is palpable. View it at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBk2fI_ozy0 and visit allenshadow.com and allenshadow.wordpress.com.

"Miss America" will be included on Shadow's forthcoming album, "American Alleys," a street-savvy take on cities from coast to coast, due in 2010 from Blue City Records.

His debut release, "King Kong Serenade," drew raves from critics who called him "a true rock poet in the tradition of Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Dylan". His gritty, literate New York City style had critics comparing him to early Lou Reed, Bruce Springsteen, Jim Carroll and even Walt Whitman.

"Serenade" offers a noirish portrait of New York City, from its famed icons to its ill-fated ghosts, as it invokes the spirits of Kerouac, bebop jazz greats, street hustlers and side-show personae.

"Perhaps not since Lou Reed...have images of New York life...been so aptly paired with the sound of crunching guitars, bass and drums," wrote Seth Rogovoy in the Berkshire Eagle.

Shadow began his writing career as a poet. Two books of his poetry - "Harlem River Baby" and "A Heart in the Anteroom" - were published by Quick Books during the 1980s, and his work was included in literary magazines nationwide.

As a performance poet, Shadow toured college campuses in the 1980s with a staged version of "Harlem River Baby." The show played to enthusiastic reviews and his writing was singled out by such literary publications as Library Journal, which called his imagery "startling."

His music interests led him to a stint in commercial songwriting. He spent much of the 1990s as a songwriter in Nashville, writing for PolyGram, SONY, and Mel Tillis' music publishing company, among others.

Despite working with such artists as Trisha Yearwood, Shadow, like many literary songwriters before him, ultimately decided Nashville's formulaic canon was too limiting. Consequently, he returned fully to his urban poetic voice and a career as a rock artist.