One of the most popular female country singers of the late '80s, Holly Dunn was born in San Antonio in 1957 and was the sister of future country songwriting pro Chris Waters. In high school, she performed with a group called the Freedom Folk, which toured the south and performed at the White House bicentennial celebration. While attending Abilene Christian University, she sang with the school's Hilltop Singers touring choir, and also co-wrote a song with her brother called "Out of Sight, Not Out of Mind." It was recorded by Cristy Lane, which convinced Dunn to try her luck in Nashville after graduation. She worked as a demo singer for a time before joining her brother as a staff songwriter at CBS. In 1984, she moved over to MTM and penned material for several different singers, including Louise Mandrell, who made "I'm Not Through Loving You Yet" a Top Ten hit. In the wake of its success, Dunn landed a record contract in her own right, and released her first single in 1985. Her self-titled debut album appeared the following year and produced her first Top Ten hit, "Daddy's Hands." 1987's Cornerstone contained two Top Five singles in "Love Someone Like Me" and "Only When I Love," and Dunn produced the 1988 follow-up, Across the Rio Grande, herself, resulting in the hits "Strangers Again" and "(It's Always Gonna Be) Someday." MTM subsequently went bankrupt, and Dunn signed with Warner Bros. for 1989's The Blue Rose of Texas, which produced her first-ever number one single, "Are You Ever Gonna Love Me," as well as the Top Five "There Goes My Heart Again.