Reba McEntire biography

Of all the country music superstars to emerge duringthe1980s,RebaMcEntire has carved out an enduring place in the pop mainstream, becoming as well known for her acting as she is for music. Her popularity grew so great, she entered the rarefied air of stars who would be identified by only their first name. 

She scored her first number one hit with 1982's "Can't Even Get the Blues," but she gained momentum when she signed with MCA Records in the mid-'80s, and set the stage for the career-making 1986 album Whoever's in New England. For nearly a decade, McEntire remained a fixture in the Country Top Ten, frequently reaching the top of the charts. Such sustained success required subtle evolution on McEntire's part, and she proved adept in navigating shifting fashions, slowly threading pop elements into her music while courting an audience outside of country with roles on the screen (1990's Tremors), stage (a 2001 Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun), and television (as a coach on The Voice in 2023). Despite these wanderings, McEntire has always seemed quintessentially country, achieving the right balance between down-home authenticity and Music City glitz.

Reba McEntire's was born in McAlester /Oklahoma on March 28, 1955, the third child and second daughter of schoolteacher Helen Florida McEntire and Clark Vincent McEntire: Music was a big part of the McEntire household. Helen had aspirations of being a country singer, so she encouraged her children to sing, with Reba, her sister Susie and brother Pake forming the group the Singing McEntires while they were kids. Reba was the ringleader of the Singing McEntires, playing guitar and writing songs, including one commemorating their grandfather's achievements. Called "The Ballad of John McEntire," the first recording by country superstar Reba McEntire.

After graduating high school in 1973, McEntire enrolled in Southeastern Oklahoma State University with plans of following in her mother's footsteps. As she studied education, she played music on the side, appearing in local clubs and rodeos. "I Don't Want to Be a One Night Stand," McEntire's debut single entered Billboard's Country charts in May 1976, climbing its way to a peak of 88 that summer. Her second single, "(There's Nothing Like the Love) Between a Woman and a Man," debuted on Billboard in February 1977. However, McEntire didn't score a genuine hit until she teamed with her labelmate Jacky Ward for the double-sided single "Three Sheets in the Wind"/"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," which reached 20 in the summer of 1978.

She began to reach Billboard's Country Top Ten with regularity in 1982, beginning with "I'm Not That Lonely Yet," which led to the back-to-back number one singles "Can't Even Get the Blues" and "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving." In the wake of this success, McEntire signed up with MCA Nashville in 1984.

"Just a Little Love" kicked off McEntire's contract with MCA, becoming the first of many Top Ten singles she'd have at the label over the next 20 years. Initially, MCA wanted to position McEntire as a country-pop act, but the vocalist appealed to the label's president Jimmy Bowen to let her sing harder country material. Bowen acquiesced and McEntire recorded a bunch of country classics for her second MCA album, pointedly titled My Kind of Country. This shift in direction brought McEntire into alignment with such new traditionalists as Randy Travis and George Strait, a move that helped My Kind of Country become her breakthrough album; it reached 13 on Billboard's Country charts, with its singles "How Blue" and "Somebody Should Leave" both topping the charts. Its success helped McEntire win Female Vocalist of the Year from the Country Music Association in 1984, a sign that the Nashville establishment endorsed her creative makeover.

It  was 1986's Whoever's in New England that established her as a superstar: both its title track and "Little Rock" reached number one, the same position achieved by the proper album. "Whoever's in New England" won the Grammy for Best Female Country Vocal Performance and the awards and accolades didn't stop there: its parent album was her first to earn a gold certification by the RIAA, the CMA named her Entertainer of the Year, and 1986 was the year she became a member of the Grand Ole Opry.

By most measures, McEntire was the biggest star in country music in the mid-'80s, and she continued to gain momentum through 1987, racking up her fourth CMA award for Female Vocalist of the Year - an unprecedented streak - and issuing three albums in quick succession. Released just eight months after Whoever's in New England, What Am I Gonna Do About You reached number one after its October 1986 release, with its title track and "One Promise Too Late" both topping the singles chart. April 1987 brought McEntire's Greatest Hits, which chronicled her recent rapid rise and would become one of her most enduring catalog items, and she followed it quickly with The Last One to Know, which had two number one hits in its title track and "Love Will Find Its Way to You." Two months after its September release came Merry Christmas to You, Reba's first holiday album; it would later be certified double platinum.

In 1988, McEntire shored up her success. The previous year, she'd divorced her first husband - rodeo star Charlie Battles - and moved from Oklahoma to Nashville. Once she settled in the Music City, she married steel guitarist Narvel Blackstock and launched Starstruck Entertainment - a multifaceted organization that wound up covering every aspect of the entertainment industry, including publishing, management, and booking. She eased herself into softer, pop-oriented territory with the Reba album.

 McEntire remained at the top of the country charts through the dawn of the '90s, making inroads into the mainstream all the while. Sweet Sixteen, her 1989 album, reached number one on Billboard's Country charts, followed by the concert album Reba Live later that year.

Tragedy struck McEntire's camp on March 16, 1991, when members of her touring entourage were killed in a plane crash following a concert in San Diego. For My Broken Heart, her next album, was dedicated to the departed. Despite this loss, McEntire's career rolled on uninterrupted. For My Broken Heart was a smash upon its October 1991 release, achieving her best placement to date on the pop album chart when it peaked at 13; the album would eventually be certified platinum four times, making it her best-selling studio album. Arriving in 1992, It's Your Call cracked the Top Ten on Billboard's Top 200, peaking at eight, a reflection of her increasing mainstream popularity.

McEntire stayed at the top of the charts throughout the '90s. Her albums often reached the Top Ten on Billboard's pop charts and number one on their country chart, while she remained a strong presence on the singles charts, frequently hitting number one.

During the 2000s, McEntire concentrated on acting over recording. She had acted throughout the '90s - of particular note was the 1995 miniseries Buffalo Girls, plus two TV movies based on her songs: 1994's Is There Life Out There? and 1998's Forever Love - but when she appeared in the title role of Annie Oakley in the Broadway revival of Annie Get Your Gun in 2001, the emphasis of her career started to shift.

The 2009 release, Keep on Loving You debuted at number one on the Billboard Top 200; it went gold and had a number one single in "Consider Me Gone." The Dann Huff-produced All the Women I Am followed in 2010. The album generated her last big hit with "Turn on the Radio," which topped Billboard's Country Airplay charts. McEntire was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2011.

McEntire made a number of big changes in the middle of the 2010s. She divorced Narvel Blackstock, then signed with Big Machine's new imprint Nash Icon -- a subsidiary designed to showcase veteran artists - and released Love Somebody in 2015; it entered Billboard's Country Albums chart at number one. McEntire teamed with producer Buddy Cannon for 2019's Stronger Than the Truth, a return to her hard country roots; it earned her a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album.