Bill Allen

…Phillips of Memphis, Tennessee, and William (“Hoss”) Allen of WLAC in Nashville, Tennessee—who created rock-and-roll radio by playing hard-driving rhythm-and-blues and raunchy blues records that introduced white suburban teenagers to a culture that sounded more exotic, thrilling, and illicit than anything they had ever known. In 1954 that sound coalesced…

Bill (“Hoss”) Allen—brought fame to themselves and WLAC by playing rhythm and blues, at least partly in response to the requests of returning World War II veterans who had been exposed to the new music in other parts of the country. Nobles, who joined WLAC…