This fiery Southern belle has the looks that could turn a rock god into a country-loving cowboy and a voice to melt the hearts of everyone else. Raised in a small Alabama town, Allison was raised on the voices of Tammy Wynette, Willie Nelson and Johnny Cash. She began singing tunes as a kid and eventually believed to make a career of it. After graduating with a degree in Public Relations from the University of South Alabama, Allison packed up her car and headed off to Nashville with the dreams of becoming a background singer; she never planned on pursuing a solo career. After meeting Butch Primm — her future husband/producer/songwriter — the Oklahoma-born musician introduced Allison to Jonathan Stone at Windswept Pacific. One acoustic performance later, the publisher was ready to sign her to a songwriting deal and in 1996, Allison performed at a tribute concert and wowed Nashville agent Bobby Cudd.
After recording some demos and performing for MCA, the president of the company jumped off the stage and signed Allison to a deal, first using the young singer for a track used on the Robert Redford film “The Horse Whisperer.” In 1998, Allison was welcomed to stardom when her first live appearance at the South by Southwest Music Festival became the buzz of the media the next day, heralding the arrival of an important new singing and songwriting talent. Still in shock from her sudden splash of success, Allison continues to thank her family, friends and incredible streak of luck. With five records already out in stores and plenty of requests to show up in other country star records, Allison seems determined to brand her mark on the music industry and change the future for country music for the better.
Allison on the Radio
Allison released her debut album, Alabama Song in 1998 to much excitement from country music critics, one critic even stating that her voice made the other Nashville crooners sound like fingernails on a chalkboard. Since then, she has quickly followed up each successful album with another, putting out The Hardest Part in 2000, Miss Fortune in 2002 and Show in 2003. Along with her continuous record releases, Allison has also appeared on a number of other albums including Lonesome Bob’s Things Fall Apart and Things Change, as well as on Kid Rock’s 2002 Picture. Allison also shows no indication of slowing down and has finally left her Universal recording label in order to release her individual creations as she sees fit.
Allison Says
On parting with her Universal label in 2003:
“I want to be the kind of artist that does the music [I] want to do.”
“You know, if the company hires you to make baseballs and you give them soccer balls and they only know how to sell baseballs then eventually they’re going to go, ‘you don’t know how to make baseballs’.”