Deborah Allen

A country-pop singer strongly influenced by Patsy Cline, Deborah Allen scored a few major hits in the early '80s and subsequently reinvented herself with a newly sensual image for the '90s. Born in Memphis in 1953, Allen moved to Nashville at age 17 to pursue a country-music singing career, and met Roy Orbison while working as a waitress. Orbison hired her as a backup singer, and she subsequently worked at the Opryland theme park before landing a gig as a singer and dancer in Tennessee Ernie Ford's touring revue. As a solo act in her own right, Allen went on to open for Jim St...