Reba McEntire

Reba McEntire
Reba McEntire in April 2010
Background information
Birth name	Reba Nell McEntire
Also known as	Reba
Born	March 28, 1955 (1955-03-28) (age 56) McAlester, Oklahoma
Origin	McAlester, Oklahoma
Genres	Country, Country Pop
Occupations	Singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, producer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1975–present
Labels	Mercury, MCA Nashville, Starstruck, Valory, Humphead
Associated acts	Dolly Parton, Red Steagall, Jacky Ward, Pake McEntire, Susie Luchsinger, Vince Gill, Linda Davis, Brooks & Dunn, Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney
Website	Official Website

Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955) is an American country music artist and actress. She began her career in the music industry as a high school student singing in the Kiowa High School band,^[1] on local radio shows with her siblings, and at rodeos. As a solo act, she was invited to perform at a rodeo in Oklahoma City, which caught the attention of country artist Red Steagall. He brought her to Nashville, Tennessee, where she eventually signed a contract with Mercury Records in 1975. She released her first solo album in 1977 and released five additional studio albums under the label until 1983.

Signing with MCA Nashville Records, McEntire took creative control over her second MCA album, My Kind of Country (1984), which had a more traditional country sound and produced two number one singles: "How Blue" and "Somebody Should Leave". The album brought her breakthrough success, bringing her a series of successful albums and number one singles in the 1980s and 1990s. McEntire has since released 26 studio albums, acquired 35 number one singles, and 28 albums have been certified gold, platinum or multi-platinum in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In the early 1990s, McEntire branched into film starting with 1990's Tremors. She has since starred in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun and starred in her television sitcom, Reba (2001–2007) for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series–Musical or Comedy.^[2] She has sometimes been referred to as "The Queen of Country",^[3] having sold 57 million records in the United States and more than 70 million worldwide.^[4] In the United States, she ranks as both the seventh best-selling female artist in all genres and the seventh best-selling country artist. She is the best-selling female country artist of all time.^[5]

Early life

Reba Nell McEntire was born on March 28, 1955, outside of Kiowa, Oklahoma, to Jacqueline (née Smith) and Clark Vincent McEntire.^[2] Her father and grandfather were champion steer ropers and her father was a World Champion Steer Roper three times (1957, 1958, and 1961). Her mother originally had plans to become a country music artist but decided not to pursue that professionally and worked as a schoolteacher. Instead, McEntire's mother taught her children how to sing. On car rides home from her father's rodeo trips, the McEntire siblings were taught songs and learned their own harmonies, eventually forming a vocal group called the "Singing McEntires". Consisting of her brother, Pake, and her younger sister, Susie (her older sister, Alice did not participate), the group sang at rodeos and recorded "The Ballad of John McEntire" together. Released on an indie label, Boss, the song pressed one thousand copies.^[2] In 1974, McEntire attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University and intended on becoming an elementary school teacher (eventually graduating December 16, 1976^[2]). While not attending school, she also continued to sing locally. That same year she was also invited to perform the national anthem at an Oklahoma City rodeo. At the club, country artist Red Steagall (who was also performing that day) was impressed by her vocal ability and offered his help in making McEntire a country artist in Nashville, Tennessee. After recording a demo tape, she eventually signed a recording contract with Mercury Records in 1975.^[6]

Music career

1976–1983: Career launch at Mercury

McEntire made her first recordings for Mercury January 22, 1976, when she cut her debut single. Upon its release that year, "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand" failed to become a major hit on the Billboard country music chart, peaking at No. 88 in May.^[7] She completed her second recording session September 16, which included the production of her second single, "(There's Nothing Like The Love) Between a Woman and Man", which only reached No. 86 in March 1977. She recorded a third single that April, "Glad I Waited Just for You", which reached number 88 by August. That same month, Mercury issued her self-titled debut album.^[2] The album was a departure from any of McEntire's future releases, as it resembled the material of Tanya Tucker and Tammy Wynette, according to Allmusic reviewer Greg Adams.^[8] The album itself did not chart the Billboard Top Country Albums chart upon its release.^[2][6] After releasing two singles with Jacky Ward ("Three Sheets in the Wind" b/w "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight"; and "That Makes Two of Us" at number 20 and number 26, respectively^[7]), Mercury issued her second studio album in 1979, Out of a Dream. The album's cover of Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams" became McEntire's first Top 20 hit, reaching No. 19 on the Billboard country chart in November 1979.^[2][7] In 1976 she made two albums listed under the genre of 'urban cowboy' instead of 'country.'

In 1980, "You Lift Me Up (To Heaven)" brought her to the Top 10 for the first time.^[9] Her third studio album, Feel the Fire was released in October and spawned two additional Top 20 hit singles that year.^[2] In September 1981, McEntire's fourth album, Heart to Heart was issued and became her first album to chart the Billboard Top Country Albums list, peaking at No. 42. Its lead single, "Today All Over Again" became a top five country hit.^[2] The album received mainly negative reviews from critics. William Ruhlmann of Allmusic gave it two-and-a-half out of five stars, stating she did not get creative control of her music. Ruhlmann called "There Ain't No Love" "essentially a soft pop ballad".^[10] Most of the album's material consisted of mainly country pop-styled ballads, which was not well liked by McEntire herself.^[6] Her fifth album, Unlimited was issued in June 1982 and spawned her first Billboard Number One single in early 1983: "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving".^[7] The following year her sixth album, Behind the Scene was released and was positively-received by music critics. In 1983, McEntire announced her departure from Mercury, criticizing the label's country pop production styles.^[2]

1984–1990: Breakthrough

McEntire signed with MCA Nashville Records in 1984 and released her seventh studio album, Just a Little Love. Harold Shedd was originally the album's producer; however, McEntire rejected his suggestions towards country pop arrangements. It was instead produced by Norro Wilson, although the album still had a distinguishable country pop sound.^[6] Dissatisfied with the album's sound, she went to MCA president, Jimmy Bowen, who told McEntire to find material that was best-suited to her liking. Instead of finding new material, she found previously-recorded country hits from her own record collection, which was then recorded for the album. The album's material included songs originally released as singles by Ray Price ("Don't You Believe Her", "I Want to Hear It from You"), Carl Smith ("Before I Met You"), Faron Young ("He's Only Everything") and Connie Smith ("You've Got Me [Right Where You Want Me"]).^[11] The album spawned two number one singles: "How Blue" and "Somebody Should Leave". It was given positive reviews from critics, with Billboard Magazine praising McEntire as "the finest woman country singer since Kitty Wells" and Rolling Stone critics honoring her as one of their Top 5 favorite country artists. Upon its release, My Kind of Country became her highest-peaking album on the Top Country Albums chart, reaching No. #13. The album also included instruments such as a fiddle and pedal steel guitar, and was aimed more towards a traditional country sound. McEntire was later praised as a "new traditionalist", along with Ricky Skaggs and George Strait. That year, she won the Country Music Association Awards' Female Vocalist of the Year, her first major industry award. The album was certified Gold.^[2][11]

In 1985, McEntire released her third MCA album, Have I Got a Deal for You, which followed the same traditional format as My Kind of Country.^[12] It was the first album produced by McEntire and was co-produced with Jimmy Bowen. Like her previous release, the album received positive feedback, including Rolling Stone, which called it a "promising debut". The album's second single, "Only in My Mind" was entirely written by McEntire and reached number five on the Billboard country chart. On January 17, 1986, McEntire became a member of the Grand Ole Opry show in Nashville, Tennessee, and has been a member ever since.^[13] In February 1986, McEntire's ninth studio album, Whoever's in New England was released. For this album, McEntire and co-producer Jimmy Bowen incorporated her traditional music style into a mainstream sound that was entirely different than anything she had previously recorded. Country Music: The Rough Guide called the production of the title track, "bigger and sentimentalism more obvious, even manipulative".^[6] The title track peaked at number one on the Billboard Country Chart and won her a Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance the following year.^[7] In addition, the album became McEntire's first release to certify gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (and was later certified Platinum). At the end of the year, McEntire won Entertainer of the Year from the Country Music Association, the highest honor in the awards show.^[6]

Reba McEntire in Washington, D.C. (2005).

McEntire released a second album in 1986, What Am I Gonna Do About You. Allmusic critic William Ruhlmann was not overly pleased with album's production, saying that it lacked the features that had been set forth on Whoever's in New England. Rulhlmann criticized the title track for "something of the feel of 'Whoever's in New England' in its portrayal of a woman trying to recover from a painfully ended love affair".^[14] The title track was the lead single from the release and was a number one single shortly after its release.^[7] This album also spawned a second Number One in "One Promise Too Late". The following year, her first MCA compilation, Greatest Hits was released and became her first album to be certified platinum in sales, eventually certifying triple-platinum.^[2] A twelfth studio album, The Last One to Know, was released in 1987. The emotions of her divorce from husband, Charlie Battles, were put into the album's material, according to McEntire. The title track from the release was a number one single in 1987 and the second single, "Love Will Find Its Way to You", also reached the top spot. In late 1987, McEntire released her first Christmas collection, Merry Christmas to You, which sold two million copies in the United States, certifying double Platinum.^[9] The album included cover versions of "Away in a Manger", "Silent Night", and Grandpa Jones's "The Christmas Guest".^[15]

Her thirteenth album, Reba, was issued in 1988 and was not well-received by critics, who claimed she was moving farther away from her "traditional country" sound. Stereo Review disliked the album's contemporary style, stating, "After years of insisting that she'd stick to hard-core country 'because I have tried the contemporary-type songs, and it's not Reba McEntire—it's just not honest,' McEntire[...]has gone whole-hog pop. The album peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and remained there for six consecutive weeks. Okay, so maybe that's not so terrible." Although it was reviewed poorly, the album itself was certified platinum in sales and produced two number one singles: "I Know How He Feels" and "New Fool at an Old Game".^[7] In addition, the release's cover version of Jo Stafford's "A Sunday Kind of Love" became a Top 5 hit on the Billboard country music chart.^[16] Also in 1988, McEntire founded Starstruck Entertainment, which controlled her management, booking, publishing, promotion, publicity, accounting, ticket sales, and fan club administration. The company would eventually expand into managing a horse farm, jet charter service, trucking, construction, and book publishing.

McEntire's fourteenth studio album, Sweet Sixteen, was released in May 1989; it spent sixteen weeks at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, while also becoming her first album to peak in the top 100 on the Billboard 200, reaching No. 78. The album was given positive reviews because unlike her previous studio album, the release, "welcomes the fiddles and steel guitars back as she returns to the neo-traditionalist fold", according to Allmusic, which gave the release four-and-a-half out of five stars. Reviewer William Ruhlmann found Sweet Sixteen to "double back to a formula that worked for her in the past". The lead single was a cover of The Everly Brothers' "Cathy's Clown", with McEntire's version reaching number one in July on the Billboard country music chart. Three more Top 10 hits followed from Sweet Sixteen: "Till Love Comes Again", "Little Girl", and "Walk On", at number four, seven and two, respectively.^[7] In September she released Reba Live, her first live album, which originally certified gold but certified platinum ten years later.^[17][2]

Sixteen months after the release of Sweet Sixteen and after giving birth to a child, McEntire transitioned into 1990 with the release of Rumor Has It. The album's "sound and production were almost entirely pop-oriented", according to Kurt Wolff of Country Music: The Rough Guide.^[6] Although Rumor Has It was an attempt to receive critical praise, many reviewers found the album to be "predictable". Stereo Review mainly found the recording displeasing in some places, but the reviewer also believed she "still leaves most of the competition in the dust", calling the album "glorious". Rumor Has It eventually sold three million copies by 1999, certifying triple-platinum by that year. It was prefaced by the single "You Lie", which became her fifteenth number one single on the country chart.^[7] In addition, the album's cover of Bobbie Gentry's 1969 hit "Fancy" and a new track, "Fallin' Out of Love", became Top 10 hits on the same Billboard country chart.^[18]

1991: Aviation accident and For My Broken Heart

While on tour for her 1990 album, McEntire lost eight members of her road band (Chris Austin, Kirk Cappello, Joey Cigainero, Paula Kay Evans, Jim Hammon, Terry Jackson, Anthony Saputo, and Michael Thomas), plus pilot Donald Holmes and co-pilot Chris Hollinger, when their charter jet plane crashed near San Diego, California on March 16, 1991. The accident occurred after McEntire's private performance for IBM executives the night before. The first plane was a Hawker Siddeley DH-125-1A/522 charter jet, believed to have taken off around 1:45 AM from the Brown Field Municipal Airport, located near the border of Mexico. After reaching an altitude of about 3,572 feet above sea level, the Hawker aircraft crashed on the side of Otay Mountain, located ten miles east of the airport, while the second plane (carrying her other band members) did not crash. The accident was believed to have occurred due to poor visibility near Otay Mountain, which was not considered "prohibitive" for flying. The news was reported nearly immediately to McEntire and her husband, who were sleeping at a nearby hotel. A spokeswoman for McEntire at the time stated in the Los Angeles Times that "she was very close to all of them. Some of them had been with her for years. Reba is totally devastated by this. It's like losing part of your family. Right now she just wants to get back to Nashville."^[19]

McEntire dedicated her sixteenth album, For My Broken Heart, to her deceased road band. Released in October 1991, it contained songs of sorrow and lost love about "all measure of suffering",^[20] according to Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly. Nash reported that McEntire "still hits her stride with the more traditional songs of emotional turmoil, above all combining a spectacular vocal performance with a terrific song on "Buying Her Roses", a wife's head-spinning discovery of her husband's other woman".^[20] The release peaked at number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, while also reaching number 13 on the Billboard 200,^[21] and eventually sold four million copies. Its title track became McEntire's sixteenth number one, followed by "Is There Life Out There", which also reached number one on the Billboard country music chart.^[2] The third single, "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" peaked in the Top 5 and her cover of Vicki Lawrence's "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" reached No. 12.^[7] "If I Had Only Known", a cut from this album, was later included in the soundtrack to the 1994 film 8 Seconds.^[7]

1992–1996: Continued success

In December 1992, McEntire's seventeenth studio album, It's Your Call, was released. It became her first album to peak within the Billboard 200 Top 10, reaching number eight.^[22] McEntire commented that the record was a "second chapter" to For My Broken Heart,^[23] while music reviewers such as Alanna Nash of Entertainment Weekly disagreed, writing, "In truth, it isn't nearly as pessimistic as its predecessor — and unfortunately it isn't anywhere as involving." Nash called the album's title track—which peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart—"one of those moment-of-truth sagas at which McEntire excels. In the song, a wife answers the phone to find her husband's girlfriend on the other end and seizes the opportunity not only to inform her mate that she knows of his affair but to give him the ultimatum of choosing between the two. She's not the only one who's waitin' on the line, she sings, handing her husband the phone. It's your call."^[24][25] Christopher John Farley of Time Magazine wrote that the album ranged from being "relaxing" to "cathartic", and "these vocals from one of the best country singers linger in the mind".^[26] The album's preceding singles—"The Heart Won't Lie" (a duet with then-labelmate Vince Gill) and "Take It Back"—were Top 10 hits on the Billboard country chart, reaching number one and number five respectively.^[24] Like its preceding album, It's Your Call sold over a million copies, eventually certifying by the RIAA in sales of double-platinum.^[27]

In October 1993, McEntire's third compilation album, Greatest Hits Volume Two was released, reaching number one and number five on the Billboard Top Country Albums and Billboard 200 charts respectively, selling 183,000 copies during Christmas week 1993.^[28] Out of the ten tracks were two new singles: the first, "Does He Love You", was a duet with Linda Davis. The song later went on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart and win both women a Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals.^[7] Its second single, "They Asked About You", was also a Top 10 hit. The additional eight songs were some of McEntire's biggest hit singles during a course of five years including "The Last One to Know", "I Know How He Feels", "Cathy's Clown", and "The Heart Won't Lie".^[29] After originally selling two million copies upon its initial release (2× Multi-Platinum), Greatest Hits Volume Two would later certify at 5× Multi-Platinum by the RIAA in 1998.^[30]

Her eighteenth studio release was 1994's Read My Mind. The album spawned five major hit singles onto the Billboard Country chart, including the number one single "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter". The further releases ("Till You Love Me", "Why Haven't I Heard from You", and "And Still") became Top 10 singles on the same chart,^[31] with "Till You Love Me" also reaching number 78 on the Billboard Hot 100, a chart that she had not previously entered.^[7] The album itself reached number two on the both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums charts.^[32] Charlotte Dillon of Allmusic gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "another wonderful offering of songs performed by the gifted country singer Reba McEntire". Dillon also felt that the album's material had "a little soul, a little swing, and some pop, too".^[33] Entertainment Weekly's Alanna Nash also gave the album positive feedback, viewing the album to have "enough boiling rhythms and brooding melodies to reflect the anger and disillusionment of the middle class in the '90s", calling the track "She Thinks His Name Was John" to be the best example of that idea.^[34] The song was eventually spawned as a single and was considered controversial for its storyline, which described a woman who contracts AIDS from a one-night stand.^[35] Because of its subject, the song garnered less of a response from radio and peaked at number 15.^[2] Read My Mind became another major seller for McEntire and her label, selling three million copies by 1995 and certifying at 3× Multi-Platinum from the RIAA.^[36]

After many years of releasing studio albums of newly-recorded material, McEntire's nineteenth studio album, Starting Over (1995) was collection of her favorite songs originally recorded by others from the 1950s through the early '80s. The album was made to commemorate twenty years in the music industry, but many music critics gave it a less positive response than her previous release.^[37] Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine commented that although the album was considered a "rebirth" for McEntire, he thought that some tracks were recorded for merely "nothing more than entertainment".^[38] The album paid tribute to many of McEntire's favorite artists and included cover versions of "Talking In Your Sleep" originally sung by Crystal Gayle, "Please Come to Boston", "Starting Over Again", cowritten by Donna Summer and originally a hit for Dolly Parton, "On My Own", and "By the Time I Get to Phoenix".^[6] "On My Own" featured guest vocals from Davis, as well as Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood.^[7] Despite negative reviews, Starting Over was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America within the first two months of its release,^[39] but only one single—a cover of Lee Greenwood's "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands"—was a Top 10 hit single.^[40]

1997–1998: What If It's You

Reba McEntire's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

McEntire made a major comeback into the music industry the following year with her twentieth studio album, What If It's You.^[41] The album's lead single, "The Fear of Being Alone" reached number two on the country charts, and its further two singles ("How Was I to Know" and "I'd Rather Ride Around with You") reached number one and number two respectively.^[2] The release garnered higher critical acclaim than Starting Over, with Thom Owens of Allmusic calling the album "nevertheless an excellent reminder of her deep talents as a vocalist".^[42] MCA Nashville chairman Bruce Hinton told Billboard how pleased he was with McEntire's release, calling the album's ten tracks "powerful" and concluding by stating, "There are so many writers and so many great songs in Nashville, and Reba has collected her disproportionate share[...]She's country music's female artist of the 90's." What If It's You peaked at number one Top Country Albums and No. 15 on the Billboard 200, while also becoming her first album in three years to certify in multi-platinum sales, selling two million copies by 1999.^[43][44] At the end of 1997, McEntire also charted at number 23 the charity single "What If". The proceeds of sales for this single were donated to the Salvation Army.^[7]

In 1997, McEntire headlined a tour with Brooks & Dunn that led to the recording of "If You See Him/If You See Her" with the duo the following year.^[41] This song was included on McEntire's If You See Him album and Brooks & Dunn's If You See Her album, both of which released on June 2.^[45] Thom Owens of Allmusic reported in its review that both album titles were named nearly the same as "a way to draw attention for both parties, since they were no longer new guns — they were veterans in danger of losing ground to younger musicians".^[46] The duet reached number one on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart in June 1998 and spawned an additional three Top 10 hits during that year: "Forever Love", "Wrong Night", and "One Honest Heart".^[7] In addition, If You See Him peaked within the Top 10 on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums chart, reaching number eight and number two, respectively.^[47]

1999–2001: If You See Him and So Good Together

McEntire (right) in June 1999

For 1999, McEntire released two albums. In September she issued her second Christmas album, The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection, which eventually sold 500,000 copies in the United States. In November, her twenty second studio album, So Good Together was released, spawning three singles. The first release, "What Do You Say" and the second release, "I'll Be" both reached the Top 5 on the Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. So Good Together also brought her into the Top 40 of the Billboard Hot 100 for the first time, peaking at No. 31 there.^[7] The album would eventually certify Platinum by the end of the decade.^[2] What Do You Say became her first crossover hit as well and made her one of the most successful crossover artists. Unlike any of her previous albums, So Good Together was produced by three people, including McEntire. Entertainment Weekly commented that most of the album's material was "an odd set — mostly ballads, including an English/Portuguese duet with Jose e Durval on Boz Scaggs' 'We're All Alone'".^[48]

In 2001, McEntire returned with her third greatest-hits album: Greatest Hits Vol. 3: I'm a Survivor. The album helped McEntire receive her third gold certification from the Recording Industry Association of America, which made her the most certified female country artist in music history. It spawned the number three hit "I'm a Survivor", which would be her last major hit for two years, as McEntire would go on a temporary hiatus to focus on her television sitcom, Reba.^[41] The album's only other single, a cover of Kenny Rogers' "Sweet Music Man", went to No. 36.^[7]

2003–2007: Return to the music industry

McEntire's seventy-sixth chart single, "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain", released in mid-2003, ended her two-year break from recording.^[41] In November 2003, her twenty-third studio album, Room to Breathe, marked her first release of new material in four years. Writing for The Boston Globe, Steve Morse found the album's material to have a variety of musical stylings, saying the track "Love Revival" sounded like Tanya Tucker and calling "If I Had Any Sense at All" "a mournful country ballad".^[49] Dan MacIntosh of Country Standard Time gave Room to Breathe a less-received review, reporting that "it ultimately falls short of leaving the listener breathless". He highlighted "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain" for sounding like a Bluegrass-inspired song such as music by Ricky Skaggs or Patty Loveless.^[50] The album itself reached a peak of number four on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and No. 25 on the Billboard 200, staying at the position for only one week.^[51] The second single, "Somebody", also recorded by Mark Wills on his "Loving Every Minute" release, became her twenty-second number one single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and first since "If You See Him/If You See Her" six years previous. This became her thirty-third number one single overall.^[7] It took longer than expected to become a hit, according to McEntire, who said, "Yeah, that had us concerned. The album came out in November and it took 30 weeks for "Somebody" to work its way up the charts. Usually, it's 15 weeks. But this one had a resurgence of life, especially after the video came out. MCA is really kicking butt with it."^[52] Its second single, "He Gets That from Me" reached number seven, followed by the Amy Dalley co-written track "My Sister", which reached number 16.^[2]

In 2005, McEntire released the compilation Reba #1's. The album comprised all thirty-three Number One hits in her career on all major trade charts. Two new songs were included on the album: "You're Gonna Be" and "Love Needs a Holiday". Both were released as singles, peaking at number 33 and number 60, respectively, with the latter becoming her first single in 27 years to miss the country top 40 entirely.^[7] Country Standard Time called the tracks "Whoever's in New England" and "You Lie" the album highlights.^[53] The album reached a peak of number three on the Top Country Albums chart and number 12 on the Billboard 200 upon its release, certifying 2× Platinum by the RIAA within two years. On August 30, 2007, McEntire received two CMA nominations: Female Vocalist of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year. With those two nominations plus another in 2008 and two more in 2009, Reba became the female artist with the most nominations (forty-eight) in the forty-three year history of the CMA Awards, surpassing Dolly Parton, who has forty-three.^[54]

In mid 2007, McEntire announced the release of her twenty-fifth studio album, Reba: Duets, on September 18. McEntire stated that out of all the albums she had previously recorded, her newest release was particularly special: "This is an album that will go down in history as probably my favorite album to record because I got to work and sing and be with my friends. Out of everything in this whole career that I can say that I'm the most proud of, are my friends. And here's the proof." In promotion for the album, McEntire made appearances at radio shows and on The Oprah Winfrey Show September 19.^[55] The album's lead single, "Because of You"—a duet with Kelly Clarkson, who originally recorded the song—became her fifty fifth Top 10 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, tying her with Dolly Parton, who also had the same amount of Top 10 records.^[56] The album was given high critical praise from magazines such as PopMatters, which called McEntire's vocals, "to sound sweet without being syrupy, while being extremely powerful. McEntire’s vocal strength yields a different kind of authority than the bluesy, drawling growl of Janis Joplin, the weathered rasp of Marianne Faithful, or even the soul-shrieking powerhouse of Tina Turner. Instead, Reba's voice combines the aspects of all three singers but tempers it with a Southern sweetness and an unmistakable femininity."^[57] The album contained ten tracks of duets with country and pop artists, including Kenny Chesney, LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Carole King, and Justin Timberlake. Reba: Duets peaked at number one on the Top Country Albums chart, while also becoming her first album in her thirty-year career to peak and debut at number one on the Billboard 200, with 300,536 copies (according to Nielsen Soundscan) sold within its first week of release.^[58] On January 17, 2008, McEntire embarked on the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour with Clarkson, which began in Dayton, Ohio.^[59] A month after its release, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on October 19, 2007.^[60] The album's only other single was "Every Other Weekend". Recorded on the album as a duet with Chesney, it was released to radio with its co-writer, Skip Ewing, as a duet partner.^[61]

2008–2011: Move to Valory

McEntire performing in 2008

In early 2008, McEntire partnered again with Brooks & Dunn for a re-recorded version of their single "Cowgirls Don't Cry". McEntire is featured in the video, but not on the version found on the album Cowboy Town. It became McEntire's fifty-sixth Top Ten country hit, breaking Dolly Parton's record for the most Top Ten country hits for a solo female.^[62] In November 2008, McEntire announced that she would be departing from her label of twenty-five years and signing with the Valory Music Group, an imprint of Big Machine Records (coincidentally distributed by MCA and Mercury's parent, Universal Music Group). Under MCA, she had sold a total of sixty-seven million records worldwide and won two Grammys.^[63] The switch to Valory reunited McEntire with the label's president, Scott Borchetta, who had worked as senior vice president of promotion at MCA during most of the 1990s. McEntire later commented on her label switch, stating, "I am thrilled to be joining the Valory team. Scott and I worked together on some of the biggest singles of my career, and I am excited to renew our partnership."^[64]

On April 5, 2009, McEntire debuted her first single, "Strange", on Valory at the 2009 Academy of Country Music Awards.^[65] The song debuted at No. 39 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, giving McEntire the highest single debut of her career,^[66] and went on to peak at No. 11. Her twenty-sixth studio album, Keep On Loving You was released August 18, 2009 and became McEntire's first solo studio album in six years.^[67] The album gained fairly positive reviews from most album critics, including Jim Malec of The 9513, which gave Keep on Loving You three and a half out of five stars. Malec favored "Strange", calling McEntire's performance of the song "stellar". Criticism was given to the album's fourth track, "I Want a Cowboy", characterizing the song as an "annoying stop-and-go melody and lyrics more befitting a 17 year old Lila McCann, it is a song so generic and irrelevant that it would be album filler on the worst albums".^[68] On August 26, Keep on Loving You became McEntire's second album to top both the Billboard Country and 200 charts, selling almost 96,000 copies within its first week. With the album, McEntire broke the record for the female country artist with the most Billboard number one albums, which was previously held by Loretta Lynn.^[69]

On August 18 the label released the album's second single, "Consider Me Gone", and it debuted at number 51 on The Hot Country Single's Chart.^[70] The single became McEntire's thirty fourth number one on the Billboard chart in December.^[71] With a four-week stay at Number One, this song became the longest-lasting Number One of her career, as well as the first multi-week Number One by a female country singer since Taylor Swift's "Our Song" in 2007.^[72]

McEntire's thirty-fourth studio album, All the Women I Am, was released on November 9, 2010 under Valory Music Group/Starstruck Records.^[73][74] The album's lead single called "Turn On the Radio" was released on August 3, 2010 and the music video premiered on August 18, 2010.^[75][76] Upon its release, All the Women I Am received generally positive reviews from most music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 72, based on 4 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews". On November 10, 2010, McEntire appeared at the Country Music Association Awards performing "If I Were a Boy".^[77] On December 20, 2010, McEntire scored her 35th Billboard number one single in the U.S. with "Turn On the Radio".^[78] The second single from All the Women I Am, "If I Were a Boy", was released in January 2011. However, unlike her previous single, "If I Were A Boy" flopped at radio, and only had a peak of No. 22 at country radio. McEntire later announced that she will be visiting 31 cities on her All the Women I Am Tour this fall with The Band Perry, Steel Magnolia and Eden's Edge as opening acts on different stops of the tour. Dates for the tour were announced July 6, 2011.^[79]

On March 1, 2011, the Country Music Association announced that McEntire will be inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame.^[80] McEntire was unable to attend the announcement after her father slipped into a coma following a stroke.^[80] Reba was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame on May 22, 2011 at a Medallion Ceremony that took place at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Reba's Idol, Dolly Parton, inducted her.

Acting career

1990–1999: Entrance into film and television

During the late 1980s, many of McEntire's music videos were being described as "mini movies". In each video, she would portray a different character, which distinguished her music videos from other videos released by artists during that time. In the late 1980s, McEntire became interested in an acting career, eventually hiring an agent. In 1989, she co-hosted Good Morning America on the ABC network.

In 1990, she obtained her first film role playing Heather Grummer in the horror comedy Tremors, along with Kevin Bacon. The film told the story of a small group of people living in Nevada who were fighting subterranean worm-like creatures. After the film's release, McEntire developed a strong interest in acting and made it her second career.^[81][82] The following year, she starred along with Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds in the made-for-television movie, The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw. In 1994, McEntire worked with director, Rob Reiner in the film, North, playing Ma Tex. The film obtained negative reviews, receiving only two and a half stars from Allmovie.^[83]

In 1994, McEntire starred in Is There Life Out There?, a television movie based on her song of the same name. The following year, she appeared in Buffalo Girls, which was based upon the life of western cowgirl, Calamity Jane (played by Anjelica Huston). Playing Jane's friend, Annie Oakley, Buffalo Girls was nominated for an Emmy award.^[84] In 1996, McEntire was cast by director James Cameron as Molly Brown in his film Titanic. However, when it became apparent production for the film would extend well beyond its original length, McEntire had to turn down the part, as she had already scheduled prior concert engagements. The role was recast with Kathy Bates.^[85] In 1998, she starred as Lizzie Brooks in Forever Love, which was based upon McEntire's hit single of the same name.^[86]

2000–2007: Broadway and television series

In early 2001, McEntire expanded into theater, starring in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Playing Annie Oakley (whom she previously portrayed in Buffalo Girls), McEntire's performance was critically acclaimed by several newspapers, including The New York Times, which commented, "Without qualification the best performance by an actress in a musical comedy this season."^[87] McEntire personally called the musical, "some of the hardest work I've ever done in my life".^[88]

In 2005, McEntire starred as Nellie Forbush in the Carnegie Hall concert production of the Broadway musical South Pacific. She also starred alongside Alec Baldwin as Luther Billis and Brian Stokes Mitchell as Emile de Becque. The concert went under the direction of Walter Bobbie and featured an adapted script by David Ives. The Thirteen Network taped the concert as part of the channel's syndicated broadcast of Great Performances. The musical aired on television in 2006.^[89]

In October 2001, McEntire premiered her half-hour television sitcom Reba on the WB network. The show was based around divorced mother Reba Hart, who learns how to handle life situations after her husband divorces her and their teenage daughter becomes pregnant.^[90] Reba garnered critical acclaim and success, becoming the network's highest-rated television show for adults ranging from the ages of eighteen to forty nine. The show would run for six seasons and nominate McEntire for a Golden Globe award.^[82] In 2006, the series was moved to the CW network and remained there for one more season before its cancellation on February 18, 2007, and the series finale gained 8.7 million viewers world-wide.^[91]

2011-present: Return to television

In September 2011, McEntire confirmed on her website that ABC had ordered a pilot for her second television series, Malibu Country.^[92] McEntire will play a divorced mother of three who moves to Malibu, California to restart her music career.^[92] The pilot will be filmed in April 2012 and will begin production on its first season in August, if picked up as new series for the tv network.^[93]

Musical styles and legacy

Reba McEntire in concert on August 8, 2008.

McEntire's sound has been influenced by the country music of Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Patsy Cline.^[94] In college, McEntire would sneak into local dances at the Oklahoma-Texas border so she could dance to Wills's music, commenting that, "it didn't get any better than dancing to Bob Wills music". She also explained Merle Haggard's influence on her career, stating "I had every album he ever put out", and would sing "every song he did", along with her brother, Pake and sister, Susie. In addition, her first major hit, "Sweet Dreams" was a remake of Patsy Cline's version of the song, according to McEntire herself.^[95] McEntire's music has been described to not only be built upon traditional country music, but also expand into the genres of Country pop, Mainstream pop, Soul, Adult Contemporary, and R&B. At times, her music has often been criticized for moving away from traditional country music. Many music critics have often called her music to be "melodramatic", "formulaic", and "bombastic", particularly after her 1988 album, Reba. Studio releases such as Sweet Sixteen, Rumor Has It, It's Your Call, and Starting Over have often been described by these terms.^[6]

McEntire possesses a contralto vocal range^[96] and performs "vocal gymnastics" with her voice,^[97] a musical technique in which a singer twirls a note around, using their vibrato. McEntire has often credited Dolly Parton for influencing this trait, stating that she would always listen to Parton's records and find her style of vocal gymnastics, "so pretty".^[88]

McEntire has often been regarded as one of country music's most influential female vocalists and most beloved entertainers.^[6][94] She has also been highly-credited for remaining one of country's most popular female artists for over three decades, maintaining her success by continually incorporating contemporary musical sounds without changing her traditional vocal style.^[41][94] For many new artists, she has been credited as the inspiration to their careers in country music, including, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, and LeAnn Rimes. She has also been credited as an inspiration to other performers such as Sara Evans, Kelly Clarkson, Lee Ann Womack, Terri Clark, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood,.^[94] The Net Music Countdown second handedly reported, "That influence has manifested itself in many ways. As a role model, she's shown others how to handle fame with grace and good humor while never backing down from her values or goals. Just as importantly, she's shown others to refuse to accept limitations on what she can do or how much she can achieve." McEntire also explained to the online website, "Whatever I'm doing, I feel like I'm representing country music". "It's always been my main career, and it's where my loyalties lie. I feel like I'm waving the flag of country music wherever I go, and I couldn't be prouder to do it."^[98]

Personal life

McEntire's two siblings (both from the Singing McEntires) have also maintained careers in the music industry. Her brother, Pake McEntire was a successful country artist in the late 1980s and early 90s. Her sister, Susie Luchsinger, is a successful Christian music singer. She also has an older sister, Alice.^[99]

In 1976, McEntire married national steer wrestling champion and rancher, Charlie Battles. Together, the couple owned a ranch in Oklahoma and managed her career. In 1987, McEntire divorced Battles and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. She later commented to Bob Allen of Country Music about their separation, saying, "I had to pack everything in one day and leave. I was totally starting over." McEntire later claimed that she wanted to focus more on her music career, while Battles insisted that she remain at home, helping to take care of the ranch. McEntire stated, "I wasn't the little girl anymore, taking orders, and doing what he said."

In 1989, McEntire married her manager and former steel guitar player, Narvel Blackstock. The couple wed in a private ceremony on a boat in Lake Tahoe. Together, the pair took over all aspects of McEntire's career, forming Starstruck Entertainment, which was originally designed to help manage her career. From her second marriage, McEntire inherited three stepchildren and gave birth to a son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock on February 23, 1990. After the couple had celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary, and McEntire states that the secrets to her marriage are "Respect, faith, love, trust, and lots of patience".^[100]

Awards

McEntire holds the record for the most Academy of Country Music Top Female Vocalist Awards (seven), and American Music Awards for Favorite Country Female Artist (twelve), and ties with Martina McBride for most Country Music Association Female Vocalist of the Year Awards (four), though McEntire does have the distinction of winning the award 4 times consecutively. She also is one of only two women in country music history to have attained a number one hit in four different decades, and the only female to achieve solo number ones across four decades.

Discography

Filmography

See also

• List of best-selling music artists in the United States

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Reba McEntire

• Official website
• Reba McEntire at the Internet Movie Database