2022 Inductee

Norah Lee Allen has graced the stage of the Grand Ole Opry with her majestic voice, class, and professionalism for over 40 years. As a background vocalist on Country Music’s biggest stage, Norah Lee has been an essential part of a core group of talented singers who have accompanied some of the Music Industry’s most outstanding performers.

Norah Lee grew up in Bowling Green, Kentucky, and began singing with her sisters in The Stuart Sisters Trio, formed by their father when she was only 3-years old. For nearly 17 years, the family gospel singers traveled, toured, and performed at revivals, concerts, conventions, and churches throughout the southeast. In 1966, Norah Lee graduated from Warren County High School.

In 1968, Norah Lee was hired by the legendary Country Gospel band, The Chuck Wagon Gang. The acclaimed Country Gospel music group was known for its perfect pitch harmonies and family-friendly, faith-based songs. It proved to be a fantastic introduction to the music industry for Norah Lee.

In the early 1970s, Norah Lee took a job in Nashville with a Benson Publishing Group. There, she adopted multiple roles, from secretarial work to providing background vocals during studio recordings. In Nashville, word spread of Norah Lee’s exceptional vocal ability. Her incredible versatility led to recommendations for background session work with Country, Bluegrass, and Gospel bands for many artists, including Grand Ole Opry bass legend Jerome Hines and Conway Twitty.

In 1975, Norah Lee moved into the role that would define her professional musical career. At first, she became a part-time fill-in, yet in 1980 Norah Lee became a full-time member of the Grand Ole Opry Band as a background vocalist. Over the years Norah Lee and the Carol Lee Singers, then Opry Staff Singers, mastered dozens of songs each night, then superbly performed the new renditions in front of thousands of country music fans live at the Opry and on television and radio around the world.

Perhaps one of the most meaningful lifetime achievements for Norah Lee has been her ability to care for and maintain a faith-based family life during her time as a professional at the Grand Ole Opry. Her close-knit family of husband Duane Allen, two children Jamie Allen Martin and Dee Allen, and now her grandchildren remain the center of her attention.

For over 50 years now, Norah Lee has performed regularly with the greatest stars in Country Music History. She has worked with Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, Oliva Newton-John, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, Minnie Pearl, Trisha Yearwood, Charlie Daniels, Martina McBride, and Loretta Lynn, only to mention a few.

Indeed, one of Norah Lee’s most impactful shows came when she performed with one of the industry’s top female pop and country artists of the 1950s & 60s, Patti Paige. As one of Norah Lee’s favorite all-time vocalists, sharing the stage and meeting with Patti and her husband after the show left an enduring impression on Norah Lee’s life and professional career.

Throughout her lifetime Norah Lee Allen dedicated her professional and personal life to the support of those around her. She has accompanied the greatest stars in Music yet remains humble, faithful to her Christian values, and devoted to her family. Norah’s immense talent is unmistakable, her professionalism unquestionable. Today, Norah Lee Allen continues to embody the gentle soul and firm conviction of a successful lifelong music artist. And as a wife, mother, and grandmother, she has earned the admiration of the entire Nashville music establishment and all Kentuckians.