[1] Her early musical influences included Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Ray Charles, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and the then-current music played on Memphis stations WHBQ and WDIA; as well as country musicians such as Brenda Lee, Patsy Cline, Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Johnny Cash.

They admired her spunk, and two weeks later, they decided to hire Allen to sing background vocals on a couple of Orbison tracks.

She was soon chosen by Opryland as a featured soloist and dancer for a State Department exchange tour of Russia starring Tennessee Ernie Ford.

[3] Upon her return from Russia, Allen gravitated to the Nashville offices of Waylon Jennings, the Glaser Brothers and John Hartford, where her close friend, Marie Barrett, worked as a secretary.

[4] After watching her perform at a happy hour show at the Spence Manor on Nashville's Music Row, Silverstein advised Allen to pursue a songwriting career.

Allen's singing career received a boost when she was chosen to be a regular on Jim Stafford's summer replacement series on ABC television.

Three of these duets – "Don't Let Me Cross Over", "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" and "Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me"[2] – were released as singles, and made the top 10 on the country charts for Reeves' longtime label, RCA Records.

Her debut album for the label that year, Trouble in Paradise,[2] produced her initial solo hit "Nobody's Fool", peaking at No.

Her subsequent (non-album) country chart singles "You (Make Me Wonder Why)", "You Look Like the One I Love" and "After Tonight" (co-written by Troy Seals) peaked at #20, #33 and #82 respectively.

Allen had written a song at the time called "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" with Bruce Channel and Kieran Kane.

Allen made the charts once again in 1984 with "Heartache and a Half" (co-written with Van Hoy and Muscle Shoals songwriter Eddie Struzick).

1s for Janie Fricke ("Let's Stop Talking About It") and John Conlee ("I'm Only in It for the Love"), the latter a co-write with Kix Brooks and Van Hoy.

Allen's 1994 album All That I Am, which she co-produced with Giant label head James Stroud, featured the single "Break These Chains".

Five of Allen's songs were recorded by LeAnn Rimes – two appear on the multi-platinum album Blue and three on Sittin' on Top of the World.

On March 22, 2019, Bill Lee, the Governor of Tennessee, officially designated June 5, 2019, as a Day of Recognition to honor Allen.

The first single, "Blue Collar Baby", was released in January 2022, followed by her first album for the label, The Art of Dreaming, on March 18, 2022.