Early Life & Rise to Fame
Allen was born Deborah Lynn Thurmond in Memphis, Tennessee and was strongly influenced by Patsy Cline. It was at the young age of 17, that Allen decided to pursue a country music career, and she then moved to Nashville, Tennessee, the hometown of Country music. Here, she followed the basic tradition of what most rising country stars did, and became a waitress at the local IHOP restaurant. While working here, she met Roy Orbison. Orbison liked Allen's voice, and he decided to hire Allen as a background singer. She also worked at the Opryland theme park. She soon landed a gig as a singer and dancer in Tennessee Ernie Ford's tour. It was soon evident that Allen wanted to pursue a solo career.
Allen finally got the chance to pursue a singing career in her own right. She served as an opening act for Jim Stafford. In 1979, Allen was handpicked by Jim Reeves' wife to sing on some of Reeves' unfinished duet tracks. 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 songs were released as singles for Reeves' old record company, RCA Records. "Take Me In Your Arms and Hold Me" proved to be a hit single for Allen, going all the way to #10 on the Country charts in early 1980.
[edit] The Height of Her Career In the Early 80s
In 1980, Allen was able to sign with Capitol Records. Her debut album under the label was 1980's Trouble in Paradise. Although the album wasn't too much of a success, the album did produce some minor hits for Allen, including "Nobody's Fool" and "You Make Me Wonder Why". "You Make Me Wonder Why" was Allen's highest charting single from the album, peaking at #20. She released a couple of other unsuccessful singles, including "You Look Like the One I Love" and "After Tonight". "After Tonight" only peaked at #82 on the Country charts in 1982.
Allen soon switched record companies after finding no success under Capitol. In 1983, she moved over to RCA Records, where she ended up having her biggest success. It all started with releasing the album Cheat the Night in 1983. The first single released from the album came the same year with her signature song, "Baby I Lied." On the Country charts, it was a Top 5 hit, peaking at #4. It was also a Pop chart crossover, reaching #26 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1984. It even went as far to become a hit on the Adult Contemporary charts. Overnight, Allen was turned into a major Country Music star, from waiting tables in Nashville, to performing at the Grand Ole Opry. Allen followed up the success of her crossover hit quite well with the Country hit "I've Been Wrong Before," which just missed topping the Country charts in the spring of 1984. Later that year, "I Hurt For You," also from Allen's breakthrough album, became her most recent top 10 country hit, reaching #10. All her hits were co-written by Allen and her husband Rafe Van Hoy, a rarity for Country Pop-styled singers. In 1984, the two continued their collaboration together, with the song "Let Me Be There First", which used electronic instrumentation. In 1984, Allen also had a minor hit with the song "Heartache and a Half".
In 1987, Allen released a single penned by the legendary singer Prince called "Telepathy". An album of the same name was also released, which showed even more electronic instrumentation. All this experimenting with electronic instrumentation led to Allen's fans lessening, and soon enough she was alienated from her Country audience. After the release of the 1987 single "You're the Kind of Trouble", RCA Records dropped Allen from the label.
[edit] Comeback & Life Today
Soon, Allen was left without a recording contract, with no way to make a living. However, Allen and Van Hoy were able to write as songwriters. Together they penned the Janie Fricke hit "Don't Worry 'Bout Me Baby" and also the Tanya Tucker hit "Can I See You Tonight", among other hits.
However, during her free time, Allen was putting together a comeback album called Delta Dreamland. She used her own time and her own money to put together the album. Soon, however, she was able to make a deal with Giant Records to release the album under their label in 1993. That same year, she had a Top 30 hit from the album with the song "Rock Me (In the Cradle of Love)". She also had one other charting single from the album. The album showed Allen as a new person, with a more sexier image and a bluesy new style. Her 1994 album, All That I Am, ended up being the same result. Since the release of her two albums, Allen remained a popular songwriter in Nashville.
[edit] Discography
[edit] Albums
Year Title US Country US 200
1980 Trouble in Paradise
1983 Cheat the Night 10 67
1984 Let Me Be There First 52
1987 Telepathy
1993 Delta Dreamland 55
1994 All That I Am
1998 Anthology
2000 The Best of Deborah Allen
[edit] Singles
Year Title US Country Album
1976 "Do You Copy" single only
1979 "Don't Let Me Cross Over" (w/ Jim Reeves) 10 Don't Let Me Cross Over
"Oh, How I Miss You Tonight" (w/ Jim Reeves) 6
1980 "Take Me in Your Arms and Hold Me" (w/ Jim Reeves) 10
"Nobody's Fool" 24 Trouble in Paradise
1981 "You (Make Me Wonder Why)" 20 single only
"Next to You" Trouble in Paradise
1982 "You Look Like (The One I Love)" 33 singles only
"After Tonight" 82
"Don't Stop Lovin' Me" Trouble in Paradise
1983 "Baby I Lied"A 4 Cheat the Night
1984 "I've Been Wrong Before" 2
"I Hurt for You" 10
"Rockin' Little Christmas"
"Heartache and a Half" 23 Let Me Be There First
1987 "Telepathy" Telepathy
"You're the Kind of Trouble"
1992 "Rock Me (in the Cradle of Love)" 29 Delta Dreamland
1993 "If You're Not Gonna Love Me" 44
"All The Loving and Hurting Too"
1994 "Break These Chains" 66 All That I Am
1999 "Is It Love Yet" The Best of Deborah Allen
APeaked at #26 on Billboard Hot 100 and #10 on Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.
[edit] External links
Official Deborah Allen Website
Authorized Deborah Allen Baby I Lied Home Page, Founded 1998
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deborah_Allen"
Wrong side of love
Deborah Allen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't wanna talk about it.
Baby, it's clear that,
Your past has your vision clouded.
You're countin' on the heartaches;
You're bettin' on the bad breaks;
You're looking at the wrong side of love.
Get a hold of the situation.
I can tell that you've been,
Livin' with misinformation.
Stop talkin' 'bout the hard times;
Start walkin' in the sunshine;
Stop lookin' at the wrong side of love.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
That's no way to find it.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
Your heartache has you blinded.
Just turn around, look at me,
You'll see how right love can be.
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Don't want you to miss out.
Don't want you to do without it.
Darlin', there's no doubt,
You don't know enough about it.
If you're ever gonna get wise;
Open up those blue eyes;
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
That's no way to find it.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
Your heartache has you blinded.
Just turn around, look at me,
You'll see how right love can be.
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Oh, stop it.
You're lookin' at the wrong side,
That's no way to find it.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
Your heartache has you blinded.
Just turn around, look at me,
You'll see how good love can be,
On the right side.
C'mon over to the right side.
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Deborah Allen's "Wrong Side of Love" talks about someone who is stuck in the past, and as a result, cannot see the love that is in front of them. The singer doesn't want to hear about the past, but the person they're talking to is relying on their past heartaches to dictate their present and future. The singer implores them to stop looking at the wrong side of love and to stop betting on bad breaks, and instead focus on the good things love can bring. The singer reminds them to open their eyes, and to start walking in the sunshine and enjoying the good in their relationship. The refrain, "Stop looking at the wrong side of love" emphasizes the importance of focusing on the present relationship, rather than dwelling on past hurts.
The song is a testament to the fact that love can conquer all, and if we stay focused on the good, we can overcome our past heartaches. The lyrics also suggest that sometimes it takes a third party to offer a fresh perspective and help us open our eyes to the good in our lives. Ultimately, the song gives the message that if we're willing to take a chance on love and look at it from the right side, our lives can be transformed for the better.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't wanna hear it.
I do not want to listen to what you are saying to me.
I don't wanna talk about it.
I do not want to talk about the issue that is bothering us.
Baby, it's clear that,
Your past has your vision clouded.
It is apparent that your past experiences have affected your judgement and perception.
You're countin' on the heartaches;
You're bettin' on the bad breaks;
You're looking at the wrong side of love.
You are relying on your previous heartbreaks and unpleasant experiences in relationships, which is making you focus on the wrong aspects of love.
Honey let me help you,
Get a hold of the situation.
Let me assist you in understanding the current situation.
I can tell that you've been,
Livin' with misinformation.
It is evident that you have been living with incorrect information or ideas.
Stop talkin' 'bout the hard times;
Start walkin' in the sunshine;
Stop lookin' at the wrong side of love.
Do not concentrate on the difficulties and instead start to focus on the positive aspects; do not focus on the negative aspects of love.
Lookin' at the wrong side,
That's no way to find it.
Focusing on negativity is not the right approach to finding what you are looking for.
Your heartache has you blinded.
Your previous pain and agony have blinded you from seeing the good things in your current situation.
Don't want you to miss out.
Don't want you to do without it.
I do not want you to miss the opportunity or be deprived of love.
Darlin', there's no doubt,
You don't know enough about it.
There is no uncertainty that you lack adequate knowledge of love and its workings.
Stop looking at the wrong side of love.
Stop focusing on the negatives of love and understand that there is a positive side that you should be looking at.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Bluewater Music Corp., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL ANDERSON, DEBORAH ALLEN, RAFE VAN HOY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind