Bill "Hoss" Allen

Bill "Hoss" Allen
Background information
Birth nameWilliam Trosdale Allen III
Also known asHossman
BornDecember 3, 1922
Gallatin, Tennessee, United States
DiedFebruary 25, 1997(1997-02-25) (aged 74)
Nashville, Tennessee, United States
OccupationDisc jockey

Bill Allen (a.k.a. "Hossman" or "Hoss"; born William Trousdale Allen III, December 3, 1922 February 25, 1997) was an American radio disc jockey who attained fame from the 1950s through the 1990s for playing rhythm and blues and black gospel music on Nashville radio station WLAC.

Allen was the youngest of a quartet of disc jockeys known as "The 50,000 Watt Quartet". It included Gene Nobles, "John R." (Richbourg), and Herman Grizzard. Allen had the longest career of any. He worked for radio stations for 45 years before his 1993 retirement. Like Richbourg, from the 1960s through the 1980s, Allen was involved with Nashville's small but vibrant blues and gospel music scenes.