Early Life
Pamela Yvonne Tillis was born July 24, 1957 to country singer Mel Tillis and Doris Tillis. She grew up in Nashville. As the daughter of country star Mel Tillis, she made her debut on the Grand Ole Opry at age 8, singing "Tom Dooley." She also began taking piano lessons at this age, and taught herself how to play guitar by age 12. At 16, she was injured in a car accident and had to undergo several years of surgery, including facial reconstruction.
Following surgery, Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee, where she performed in two different groups: a jug band called called the High Country Swing Band, and a folk duo with Ashley Cleveland. She dropped out of college in 1976 to work at her father's publishing company, writing the song "The Other Side of the Morning" for Barbara Fairchild. This song charted at number 72 on Hot Country Songs in 1978. Tillis then moved to California and founded a band called Freelight, which played jazz and rock. Upon returning to Nashville in 1979, she had her songs recorded by Gloria Gaynor and Chaka Khan. After performing in the Bluebird Café in Nashville, she signed to Warner Bros. Records in the early 1980s. Just prior to that, Pam performed with many Nashville 'club' bands including "Cor", Stan Lassiter's "Oceans" and "Strutt" which included a new in Nashville Dan Schafer with Freeman Brown, formerly with Nashville's first Motown act "Bottom & Co." on drums.
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