Photo courtesy of Billboard.com

LaVerne Allison, co-founder of the legendary R&B group The Dells, has died, according to news reports.

He was 90.

A cause of death was not published but reports suggested that he underwent triple-bypass surgery in 2000.

His son posted the death of his father on Facebook who said he died on October 6, 2026.

“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.

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.