[4][5][6] He enjoyed a successful career as a nightclub singer and producer, but in the late 1950s, he traveled to Africa, and became enamored with the ceremonial sounds that were used by various tribes of Kenya, and the Gold Coast.
Upon returning to the United States from Africa, Allan sought out a performer with whom he could produce a sound that was similar, but which was more marketable to American consumers.
[8] Allan's production work with Johnson featured repeated, driving rhythms, savage cries, and tribal iconography that was; "intended to trigger the pagan fantasies of the listener".
As a marketing strategy, Allan designed LP album liner notes that told the story of 'Chaino'; "...an orphan from a lost tribe in Africa who was taken in by missionaries and brought to the U.S." Johnson was actually born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Allen's literary fiction was reason enough for one music critic to comment that "...(Johnson's)...association with Kirby Allan was a classic case of 1950s, pop marketing gone awry..," while also pointing out his opinion that; "...(Allen's)... albums can be hard to find but usually are good values.
His last album of new material with him was Africana, recorded in 1959, though both Allan and Johnson had small roles as bongo players in Curtis Harrington's 1961 movie, Night Tide with Dennis Hopper, Linda Lawson, and Gavin Muir.
[16][17][18] Allan died in the early morning hours of June 16, 2011, while helping longtime companion Sigrid Dietrich, escape a fire that consumed his home in Mesa, Arizona.