# Deborah Allen: From “Baby I Lied” to Elvis’ Bus and Back Again :: Ep 20 Circling the Drain Podcast

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/circling-the-drain-7467223/deborah-allen-from-baby-i-lied-to-elvis-bus-and-back-again-ep-20-circling-the-drain-podcast
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/circling-the-drain-7467223/deborah-allen-from-baby-i-lied-to-elvis-bus-and-back-again-ep-20-circling-the-drain-podcast.md
Podcast: [Circling The Drain](https://stenobird.com/podcast/circling-the-drain-7467223)
Published: 2026-01-07T11:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://share.transistor.fm/s/0053fc55
Audio file: https://media.transistor.fm/0053fc55/70536dab.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/circling-the-drain-7467223/episodes/deborah-allen-from-baby-i-lied-to-elvis-bus-and-back-again-ep-20-circling-the-drain-podcast
Duration seconds: 3795

## Resource

In this episode, country artist and hit songwriter Deborah Allen joins the Three J’s for a warm, funny, and deeply personal conversation. Deborah shares: The story and long tail of her signature hit “Baby I Lied” Early days at Opryland, touring Russia with Tennessee Ernie Ford, and how Shel Silverstein nudged her into songwriting Growing up in Memphis around the sounds of Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Mitchell, Al Green, and the Hodges brothers How she wound up sleeping on Elvis’ tour bus and later cutting pioneering overdub duets with Jim Reeves as “The Mystery Girl” Getting a brand-new song from Prince after a brief meeting at Sunset Sound A major health scare, surgery at Vanderbilt with Dr. James Netterville, and why she says “the devil’s not stealing my smile” Celebrating her mom’s 100th birthday, her mom’s younger boyfriend Ed, and the belief that every person you meet is a gift Highlights & Timestamps 0:40 – Introduction to Deborah & “Baby I Lied” on country, pop, and AC radio 7:35 – Opryland, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Russia tour & meeting Shel Silverstein 12:19 – Memphis influences: Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Mitchell, Al Green 18:39 – Elvis’ bus at her parents’ shop & “I slept in Elvis’ bed” 23:10 – Overdubbing duets with Jim Reeves & the “Mystery Girl” campaign 29:30 – Pushing for her own songs at MCA & “Don’t Worry ’Bout Me Baby” 34:56 – Writing hits for others: Patty Loveless and “Hurt Me Bad (In a Real Good Way)” 35:06 – Prince writes her a song as Joey Coco after a Sunset Sound encounter 41:33 – Her mom at 100, Ed’s nightly visits, and Opry birthday roses 50:12 – Metastatic carcinoma scare, holistic support, and successful surgery 1:01:22 – How old friendships (doctors, musicians, neighbors) ended up saving her Follow Johnny B: ht…

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