Early Life & Rise To Fame
Allen was born Deborah Lynn Thurmond in Memphis, Tennessee and was strongly influenced by Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Ray Charles, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the current music which was being played in Memphis on WHBQ and WDIA, as well as country greats such as Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash. At 18, Allen moved to Nashville to begin pursuing her career in music. She worked a short stint as a waitress at the local Music Row IHOP restaurant. While there one day, Deborah met Roy Orbison and songwriter Joe Melson. Two weeks later, Orbison and Melson, who admired her spunk, decided to hire Allen as to sing background on a couple of Orbison tracks.
Allen also auditioned for and landed a job at the Opryland USA theme park. She was soon chosen by Opryland as a featured soloist and dancer for a state department exchange tour of Russia starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.
Upon her return from Russia, Deborah gravitated to the Nashville offices of Waylon Jennings, the Tompall & the Glaser Brothers and John Hartford where her close friend, Marie Barrett, worked as a secretary. There she met her soon-to-be songwriting mentor, poet, playwright, artist and songwriter Shel Silverstein. After watching her perform during a happy hour show at the Spence Manor on Nashville's famed Music Row, Shel advised Deborah to pursue songwriting as an extension of her creativity and career path.
Allen also began to pursue a singing career in her own right when she was chosen to be a regular on Jim Stafford's ABC summer replacement series. She went on to serve as an opening act for many of Stafford's personal appearances. Jim and producer Phil Gernhard brought Deborah back to Nashville to record a CB radio novelty record called "Do You Copy." It was recorded live and was released as a single on Warner Bros. Records. Although she appreciated the opportunity to record with Stafford and Gernhard, Deborah was disheartened that after waiting patiently for two years to record her first record, it was a novelty tune. She decided to move back to Nashville to follow her true musical direction.
In 1979, while singing at a private party, Deborah was discovered by producer Bud Logan, who invited her to sing on five unfinished duet tracks by the late country legend Jim Reeves. Three of these songs were "Don't Let Me Cross Over," "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" and "Take Me In Your Arms and Hold Me." All three duets were released as singles, and made the Top 10 on the country charts for Reeves' longtime label, RCA Records. Deborah was billed as "The Mystery Singer" on the first release, an innovative promotion by label head, Joe Galante.
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