Allen first learned to play
piano from his mother, Pauline Pierce Allen, a professional musician. In 1962, while in high school, he wrote his first song, "Red Bird", which he would go on to perform live on
Shindig! in 1965, and record for his 1980 album ''
Smokin' the Dummy''. In 1975, Allen released his debut art-country album,
Juarez, which is considered "one of the greatest concept albums of all time" according to
PopMatters.
Rolling Stone later called it an "
outlaw classic". Allen's 1979 follow up was the groundbreaking
Lubbock (On Everything). The songwriter's deeply moving and satirical lyrics capture his complex memory of growing up in his hometown of Lubbock. According to
AllMusic,
Lubbock (On Everything) is "one of the finest
country albums of all time" and a progenitor of the
alt-country movement. One of the songs, "New Delhi Freight Train", was first recorded by
Little Feat and appears on their 1977 album
Time Loves a Hero.
Guy Clark said of the song, "It's such an interesting piece of work. It’s really fun to play. The music, it’s really nice. But it's the juxtaposition of the song." In 1980, Allen released ''
Smokin' the Dummy'', recorded with the Panhandle Mystery Band. In 1986, Allen collaborated with director
David Byrne on the soundtrack for the film
True Stories. Over the following decade (1985–1995), Allen released a series of albums with
avant-garde elements, as companions to visual art, theatrical and musical projects –
Pedal Steal,
Amerasia and
Chippy (the latter also the soundtrack of a stage play in collaboration with
Joe Ely,
Butch Hancock,
Robert Earl Keen and
Wayne Hancock). In 1996, he released the country album
Human Remains, which features guests including
David Byrne,
Joe Ely,
Charlie and Will Sexton and
Lucinda Williams. In 2007, Allen appeared on the track "Ghost of Travelin' Jones" on
Ryan Bingham's album
Mescalito. Allen's 2013 album
Bottom of the World features "Queenie's Song", inspired by the death of his dog and co-written with Guy Clark. ==Personal life==