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As an elementary school student in his hometown of Allendale, South Carolina, Dr. Walter Allen Sr. fell in love with playing music thanks to a teacher that included the subject in the class’s daily lesson plan. Dr. Allen carried that love with him everywhere that life took him from that point on, and he was able to share it with students, friends, family and fellow musicians alike.
Dr. Allen passed away on Sunday, Apr. 20 at 94 years old, leaving behind a legacy fit for a legend in the Athens community. His son, Walter Jr., told the Banner-Herald that the memorial service held earlier this week was so packed with guest speakers offering their tributes and praises that even friends such as Athens Music Walk of famer Jackie Payne, whose first gig was booked by Dr. Allen, couldn’t get a word in.
“There are many musicians in Athens that owe a lot to dad,” Walter Jr. said. “He was either responsible for giving them an opportunity, educated them or influenced them in some way. And they influenced him, too.”
Though Dr. Allen is mostly known for his work beginning in the mid-1950s when he moved from South Carolina to become the first Black assistant principal at Athens High School (now Clarke Central) and later the band director at Athens High and Industrial School (now Burney-Harris-Lyons Middle School), his first visit came years earlier via a gig at the Morton Theatre playing with the Silas Green from New Orleans Band.
Dr. Allen was still in high school at the time, but was by then a seasoned musician who had gained experience performing as part of a blues band at hole-in-the-wall venues around Allendale. After a music scholarship at South Carolina State College fell through, businessman Lamar Dawkins Sr. in nearby Orangeburg arranged for Dr. Allen to attend Claflin College, where he graduated in 1961 just in time to be drafted into the U.S. Army.
It was during Dr. Allen’s 18-month stint in the military band during the Korean War that a family friend of former Athens school superintendent Sam Wood saw Dr. Allen playing trumpet overseas. It was through this chance meeting that Dr. Allen heard about Athens and was brought to Athens High for the 1953-1954 school year, which placed him at the center of the beginnings of integration in the city and, later, at the University of Georgia.
Dr. Allen’s career in music education saw him start band programs at several Athens area schools including Oconee and Oglethorpe counties and in cities such as Watkinsville, Monroe and Greensboro, where he was able to place his former high school music students in teaching positions. Instead of taking summer vacations, Dr. Allen traveled to Africa to teach music classes for free in Nairobi, Kenya, and set up a student exchange program.
After he retired from teaching in the 1980s, Dr. Allen hosted a radio show, occasionally performed with Walter Jr. as part of DJ Dwain Segar’s monthly jazz concerts, and was active with the Athens Council on Aging. Walter Jr. said that his dad loved going on walks around town and talking to people, and enjoyed being recognized on the street by former students and community members.
“In his last few years, dad played the saxophone and told stories about all the greats he had played with,” Walter Jr. said. “You can’t just sit around the house when you get to be that age.”
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