It all started in New Orleans, Bill's grandmother was born near New Orleans in the town of Franklin. His Father, John, was a jazz pianist and banjoist on many of the steamboats of the great "Strickfus Line" playing in and around New Orleans as well as up and down the Mississippi and Ohio rivers.

Bill Allred was also born near the Mississippi River in the town of Rock Island. He played trombone at Rock Island High School, in the U.S.Navy Band and at St. Ambrose College.

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In 1971, Bill auditioned for the position of staff musician at the new Walt Disney World attraction in Orlando, Florida. He was chosen as one of the original 200 staff musicians from over 2500 auditioned.

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In 1974, Bill's next stop was at Rosie O'Grady's in Orlando, Florida where he organized the Goodtime Jazz Band and produced the world-famous Goodtime Show. Bill Allred remained at Rosie O'Grady's for over 15 years serving as Entertainment Director and Band Leader. Bill's production efforts have been rewarded by many accolades, among them, the coveted Carbonel award given by Florida Entertainment writers for excellence in show production.

 

In 1991 Bill accepted an offer to return to Walt Disney World as a staff musician. In addition to Disney, he continues to head up his own entertainment production company in Orlando and is involved in many musical activities. With all of these activities, Bill still finds time to broaden his musical scope by traveling, performing and recording throughout the US and in Europe.

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His jazz performances have taken him to the major jazz festivals and concerts in the United States and abroad. Bill has appeared in concerts with Jack Teagarden, Billy Butterfield, Al Hirt, Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Al Cohen, Zoot Sims, Snooky Young, Ross Tomkins, Bob Cooper, Milt Hinton, Bob Haggart, Butch Miles, Tom Saunders, Chuck Hedges, and countless other jazz personalities from all over the world.

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For some years, Bill was a member of the Wild Bill Davison Jazz Band, traveling to Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, England, South America and at many other festivals and concerts worldwide. Bill still remains a member of Wild Bill Davison Legacy Band, a group championed by cornetist Tom Saunders. The Wild Bill Legacy recently performed concerts in Lacrosse, Wisconsin and Sacramento and returned to Europe in 1995 on their 10th Anniversary tour.