JOHN AND ROBIN BERRY FAITH, FAMILY & FRIENDSCONVERSATION WITH THE OAK RIDGE BOYS LEAD SINGER, DUANE ALLEN AND WIFE, CELEBRATED BACKUP SINGER, NORAH LEE
Grammy-winning artist, John Berry and his wife Robin have worked together most of his music career, and now have embarked on a new journey and project they are creating together through the podcast series Faith, Family & Friends. The twice monthly subscription based podcast is an interview series where John and Robin provide a warm atmosphere of conversation in their ‘sitting around the kitchen table’ approach to talking with their guests. They will release the conversation with The Oak Ridge Boys lead singer, Duane Allen and his beautiful wife as well as a celebrated backup singer, Norah Lee. Subscribe to Faith, Family & Friends online at www.johnberry.com.
Listeners will be captivated and feel as if they are in the room with them. Each episode features a high-profile guest, including celebrities, sports stars, Hall of Fame members, best-selling authors, and entertainers, who share personal stories about how their faith, family and friends have impacted their lives and careers.
“Norah Lee and I do very few interviews together, however when John and Robin asked us to visit with them and talk about what it is like for couples to work in the music industry, it sounded like fun, and it was fun,†shared Duane Allen. “Be sure to tune in, I think you will like it.â€
“What an awesome conversation with Duane Allen, who has been a member of the Oak Ridge Boys for over 50 years, and his wife Norah Lee Allen, who has been part of the Grand Ole Opry band for over 30 years,†shared John Berry. “They have been partners in music, raising their children, and then living their faith. I know you will enjoy this episode of Faith, Family, and Friends!â€
Future guests will include Richie Furay, Chris Hillman, Ken Abraham and T. Graham and Sheila Brown, Candy O’ Terry and Jacy Valeras along with many others including surprise guests along the way.
Throughout John’s long and successful career, Robin has been right beside him, working behind the scenes as a background singer and as part of the JB team. While they have enjoyed an amazing life together, they have also faced difficult challenges, both in his career and his health. With God’s faithfulness being the constant in their lives, they have grown in their relationship with Christ, giving their marriage a firm foundation. Faith, Family & Friends is the perfect outlet, not only for John and Robin to share their life, but for their guests to speak freely about the three most important things in life; faith, family & friends.
Stay current with John Berry on social media platforms Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Music is available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play download on Amazon Music and iTunes. Watch video content on YouTube.
About Duane Allen and Norah Lee:
A native of Taylortown, Texas, Duane (“Aceâ€) Allen had formal training in both operatic and quartet singing before becoming a member of the Oaks in 1966. He will celebrate 56years with the group in April 2021. He is a member of the Texas Gospel Music Hall of Fame and has written a book on the history of Gospel music. He also holds an honorary doctorate from a Christian college. Duane graduated from Paris Junior College, and then Texas A&M University at Commerce, Texas. He received a B.S. in Music from Texas A&M, studying with Metropolitan Opera stars Richard Webb and William Abbott. For his classical music degree, Duane concentrated on voice, piano, and composition. He has received the Distinguished Alumni Award from both Paris Junior College and Texas A&M. He and his wife Norah Lee underwrite a scholarship fund for Texas A&M University Department of Music students. During the time he studied at Paris Junior College, two operettas were written based on Duane’s life—one entitled “College Go Round†and the other entitled “Let’s See Paree (Paris).†He received a music scholarship to Texas A&M, and while he was a student there he starred in a lead role of “Annie Get Your Gun.†He also sang in an elite chorale group, which toured through the United States, as well as internationally. In 2014, Duane received a special honor from his hometown community of Cunningham, Texas. On April 15, Lamar County officials dedicated the Duane Allen Memorial Bridge on the newly designated Duane Allen Road. The bridge crosses the Big Sandy Creek just a few hundred yards from where Duane was born and raised on the Allen family farm. While in Lamar County for the event, Duane and Norah Lee presented a check to the Red River Valley Veterans Memorial in Paris, Texas. Proceeds were used to support the memorial and to honor family members who had served in the military. On August 9, 2014, Duane was inducted into the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony that included fellow members of The Oak Ridge Boys, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden, and Richard Sterban as honorary inductees. An Oak Ridge Boys’ exhibit in the Hall of Fame was unveiled the same day. Back in Hendersonville, Tennessee, where Duane and his family have lived for more than 40 years, he enjoys spending time on his 72-acre farm, which has been the home to a menagerie of animals, from beef cattle to horses, burros, and Canada geese. A superb businessman, he is credited with keeping the Oaks on firm financial footing during their switch from Gospel to Country in the late 1970s. He also loves to find new music for the group. Since the new millennium, he has taken on the role of co-producer and executive producer. He co-produced, with Michael Sykes, eight of the group’s Spring Hill/Gaither Music albums and nine tracks on the 2011 It’s Only Natural album for Cracker Barrel. He is the executive producer of The Boys Are Back CD (produced by David Cobb) and the Back Home Again CD (produced by Ben Isaacs), as well as co-producer, along with Ben Isaacs, of the Oaks’ 2012 Christmas Time’s A-Coming album and Rock of Ages, the group’s 2015 hymns and gospel favorites project for Gaither Music. Duane also produced the Oaks’ first live “Country hits†album, Boys Night Out, which released from Cleopatra Records in April 2014. To relax and stay in physical shape, he walks 20-30 miles each week and works out with a personal trainer. He is also an avid basketball fan and enjoys shooting hoops whenever he gets the chance. Duane is an antique car buff. He has many classics in a collection that is housed in a museum he calls Ace On Wheels. “It’s a great way to relax,†he says of the restoration process. “I get a lot of pleasure out of going down there and sanding and painting with no real sense of urgency.†Norah Lee Allen recently celebrated being a backup singer on the Grand Ole Opry for over 40 years. She has performed with top names in the music industry, done studio backup work, and appeared for several years on Country’s Family Reunion, as well as on other television shows, including Live From Las Vegas on TNN. Raised in a professional Southern Gospel music singing family, after a brief stint with Country Gospel group The Chuck Wagon Gang, Norah Lee joined the Opry staff. Norah Lee has devoted her life to her family, her faith, and doing her best to help and encourage everyone around her. In 2018, she was honored with the Warren County (Kentucky) Public Schools Hall of Distinguished Alumni Award. Duane and his wife, Norah Lee, raised two children, Jamie and Dee, and now enjoy spending time with their two grandsons, March and Kell, and two granddaughters, Texas LeeAnna and Tallant. Duane’s children, as well as his grandchildren, are also gifted in music.