Solo Performances

ADDRESS
653 Rosemere Circle
Orlando, FL 32835
(407) 291-9080
(407) 293-8212 fax

EMAIL
info@billallred.com

Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band Fan Club
How It All Began

Here, in her own words, fan club co-founder Lois Harvey describes how the organization evolved:

In the early 1990s, two very unlikely "groupies" (Dean and I) got hooked on the relatively new Bill Allred¹s Classic Jazz Band from Orlando, Florida, and began going to hear them as often as we could. Before long, the band members started jokingly referring to us as their "fan club."

At the time, Dean had recently retired from teaching high school science and I was managing a dental office. With Dean having some extra time on his hands, we began to think seriously about some type of support group to help promote this marvelous band. Finally, in the spring of 1994, we proposed the idea of an organized fan club to Bill. He was flattered, but not quite sure he wanted to commit to something like that. After mulling it over for several weeks, however, he finally gave us an okay to proceed.

Dean and Lois Harvey BACJB Fan Club co-founders

It was easy to find people who loved the band and their music, and everywhere the band played we picked up more members. The rest, as the saying goes, is history. Fan club membership has grown steadily, and now far exceeds our wildest dreams. In July of 2003, slightly more than three months after the band¹s 13th birthday, we signed up our 1,300th member!

The fan club has been a labor of love for Dean and me, and it has been one of the most rewarding and worthwhile experiences of our lives. There¹s something very, very special about the people who appreciate this band. Many of our closest and dearest friends today have come into our lives through the fan club, and Dean and I truly feel that we have been richly blessed with a family of more than 1,300 members.

Some of our biggest thrills as the fan club developed have come from signing up new members who are musicians themselves. What greater tribute could there be to the quality of "our" band? Another great thrill is to receive a membership application from someone who has only listened to the band¹s recordings and never actually heard them in person. That, too, has happened many times.

Unfortunately, failing health (primarily Parkinson¹s disease) has gradually deprived Dean of his ability to participate in fan club activities in recent years, and now it is no longer possible for him to be actively involved in the organization he was largely responsible for creating. However, with the help of other dedicated members, the club is continuing to grow and thrive. If you haven¹t already joined, please let me hear from you. We would love to welcome you into our unique and wonderful family.

Sincerely,

Lois Harvey, President
BACJB Fan Club

Join the Fan Club Today!