As the president of the Music Educators National Conference, he took it upon himself to harness the full potential of this organization's political power.
MENC, now the National Association for Music Education, has since exercised its influence over numerous political and social actions.
The family lived on a farm for Allen's first six years, then moved into Elgin where his father started his business Britton Dairy.
In 1949, he completed his PhD in Musicology at the University of Michigan, his thesis titled Theoretical Introductions in American Tune-Books to 1800.
Personal papers written by Britton are part of the University of Maryland's Special Collections in Performing Arts.