Legendary R&B group’s founding member dead at 90: ‘One of the greatest’

EntertainmentThe Music group The Dells accepts its induction award during the 19th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Monday, March 15, 2004 in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)APBy Brian Linder | blinder@pennlive.comVerne Allison, a founding member of the legendary R&B group The Dells, has died.He was 90. No cause of death was reported, but Soultracks.com noted that he underwent triple-bypass surgery in 2000.His death was announced by his son in a Facebook post.“It is with much sorry that I and my sister Sheila Allison Moore inform you of the passing of our father, LaVerne Allison on October 6th, 2026,” the post read. “We really appreciate the outpouring of love and support. “Allison co-founded The Dells along with Marvin Junior, Johnny Funches, Chuck Barksdale, and Michael and Lucius McGill in 1953, when they were still in high school. They actually started out as the El-Rays. After changing its name to The Dells, the group released its first hit, “Oh What a Night” in 1956. Soultracks.com was the first to report Allison’s death. The site called Allison “an essential part of the vocal blend that made the group instantly recognizable.” The site also called The Dells “one of soul music’s most enduring groups.”The Dells earned the Rhythm and Blues Foundation Pioneer Award and the NAACP Image Award’s Hall of Fame honor in 1992. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2004. It was also inducted into the National Rhythm and Blues Hall of Fame in 2022.Allison is the sixth former member of The Dells to die.Funches died in 1998 after battling pneumonia. Johnny Carter died in 2009 after battling cancer; Junior died in his sleep in 2013; Lucius McGill died in 2024; and Barksdale died in 2019.Fans and friends were quick to respond to the announcement of Allison’s death on Facebook.“Very sorry for your loss,” Bret Zwier replied. “We will keep you and your family in our thoughts.”“Harvey’s own Mighty Mighty Dells,” Mable High replied. “They were the best and I will never forget the Dells picnic every summer. My sincere condolences to your entire family.”“Saddened to hear of the passing of Verne Allison of the might, mighty Dells,” Bryan Dundee Holt wrote on Facebook, “one of the greatest groups of all time.”Brian Linder is the trending editor at PennLive.com. He has more than 20 years of experience working for newspapers first in South Carolina, then Daytona Beach, Florida and now in Pennsylvania. Linder spent...