ALLAN MASON

“Ask Allan Mason anything about popular music,” says director Barry Levinson, "and if he can't tell you the answer immediately, he'll have it for you in 30 minutes." Allan's groundbreaking work on Levinson's 1987 film, Good Morning, Vietnam, reinvented the role of the modern Music Supervisor. The film's soundtrack was certified platinum in the United States. It included Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World." The song then charted at #32 in the US Top 40, twenty years after its original release.

Allan has worked with many filmmakers on over two dozen films, including Donnie Brasco, This Boy's Life, and Benny & Joon. His long association with Barry Levinson produced standouts such as Rain Main, Sleepers and many more. Allan's obsession with music inspired the character of Shrevie, played by Daniel Stern, in Levinson's 1982 breakout film, Diner, set in Baltimore.

The choice of songs has had a lasting impact. Allan featured "At Last" by Etta James in Rain Man, and the song has gone on to become a standard, appearing over 60 times in film and television. The Belle Stars had their only US hit after their cover of " lko lko" also appeared in Rain Man. The Proclaimers' "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" became a hit in the US after it was included in Benny & Joon. A cover of the song recently appeared in a 2021 Super Bowl Commercial.

“I think I was put on planet earth to share the music,” Allan says of his life's work. The obsession with music began in his father's jukebox business in Baltimore. Around the age of eight, he began collecting 78s and 45s from his father's jukeboxes. "As soon as each one came off the machine it would go directly into my collection," a collection that would eventually exceed 100,000 LPs and 45s. He had a knack for picking hits from an early age.

He left Baltimore for Berkeley in 1969, and his desire and ability to share his knowledge established him in the local music scene, which quickly led to A&R positions at Janus Records and A&M Records, and a move to Los Angeles. He was instrumental in the careers of Cat Stevens and Al Stewart and championed Sandy Denny and Fairport Convention, among many other artists and bands.

After leaving the music industry, Allan pioneered the role of the modern Music Supervisor in the 1980s. He continues to share the music with the same enthusiasm he had as a kid in Baltimore. His most recent film project is Levinson's feature The Survivor, to be released in 2021.​