Allen Doye O'Dell was born in Gustine, Texas in 1912 to Joe and Carrie O'Dell. His Dad was a cotton farmer and later moved the family to the far west Texas town of Plainview.

Doye's uncle Tom Gregory, a fiddle player, would visit and taught Doye how to play the fiddle, sparking a love of music that would last a lifetime. Doye started playing at radio station WDAG in Amarillo and eventually got his own radio show with NBC. After many years on radio and as a prolific recording artist and even becoming a member of the Sons of the Pioneers, Doye ended up in southern California on KTLA, one of the country's pioneer TV stations.