Allen Stone

Allen Stone (born March 13, 1987) is an American soul and R&B singer and musician.

Early life

Stone was born on March 13, 1987, in Chewelah, Washington, near Spokane. He began his career singing at his father's church. His father was a preacher and his mother was an OB/GYN nurse. He began singing in church at age 3.

By age 14, Stone was leading worship at his church and playing the guitar. The draw of music for Allen was mainly being able to express himself to a crowd of people.

Allen did not discover soul music until he was a teenager, and he started collecting classic albums from the 1960s and 1970s. He was 15 when he heard the Stevie Wonder album Innervisions (1973).

When Stacie Orrico, a close friend of Allen's as a teen, became successful in music, Stone decided to become serious about his musical career. Stone related how Orrico had released a record and become successful:

"She was traveling, singing everywhere, and recording. She was just a year older than me and I was like, 'Man that would be so much fun to do, sing and actually have people listen.'"

When Stone was 18, he moved to Spokane, where he attended community college for a semester followed by a year at Moody Bible Institute in Spokane. After that year, Stone had an epiphany. He stated in an interview with SF Gate:

"I learned the history of the church and the conception of the Bible and learned about the religion and really just, like, didn't believe it... I got to the point where it was like, 'I don't believe this is the truth.'"

Not long after, Stone moved to Seattle to pursue his musical career.