William "Bill" McKinney (September 17, 1895 – October 14, 1969) was an American jazzdrummer who led a series of musical groups, most notably McKinney's Cotton Pickers.
After hiring drummer Cuba Austin, McKinney worked as leader and business manager. After touring the U.S. Midwest, they got a residency at the Arcadia Ballroom in Detroit, Michigan in 1926. In Detroit they were heard by bandleader and music promoter Jean Goldkette, who arranged a more lucrative home base for the band in Detroit's Graystone Ballroom. The band was renamed McKinney's Cotton Pickers.[1]
After the band broke up in 1934 during the Great Depression, McKinney for a time led and played with a dance band in Boston, From 1937 on McKinney managed a Detroit Cafe with a dance floor and live bands who McKinney booked; he also booked bands for other locations on the side.
Bill McKinney retired in the 1950s and spent his last years in his childhood hometown of Cynthiana.
