Charlie Allen is an American country musician born in Bristol, TN, into a family steeped
in Country music. Allen’s mother, Louise Bouton was a regular on WCYB Radio’s
“Farm and Fun Time Show,” she is a member of the Bristol Hall of Fame. His father,
Charles D. Bouton was an artist manager.
Singing and performing was the family business, and Allen learned from the best. Just
as some mothers give their child a toy to play with, Allen’s mom gave him a broom, and
taught him to pretend that it was a microphone. Eventually, he would learn to play the
guitar, piano, steel guitar, fiddle and drums. When most of his third grade friends were
getting on a school bus, Allen was getting on a tour bus.
Allen’s Uncle, Jim Harless, was also in the music business in Ft. Worth, Texas. It was
there, at age seven, that Allen began to hone his skills as a singer and performer with
his family at the legendary Panther Hall. The stage was his classroom, and his
teachers were the pillars of Country music; Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Jr, Waylon
Jennings, Dottie West, Willie Nelson and Jerry Lee Lewis were just a few of the touring
performers whom Allen shared a stage with. It was during this time that Allen signed his
first recording contract with Decca Records.
By age fifteen, Allen was fronting his own group, The Bouton Brothers where they
appeared on various television shows in the Bristol and Kingsport area, opening for the
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Charley Pride and others. Allen also hosted his own television
show, sponsored by Martha White.