Reba Nell McEntire is regarded as one of country music's most influential female vocalists and most beloved entertainers. 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. 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 recognized as an inspiration to other performers such as Sara Evans, Lee Ann Womack, Terri Clark, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and the first American Idol, Kelly Clarkson, who recently became engaged to Reba’s stepson and talent manager Brandon Blackstock. On hearing the news, McEntire expressed her joy in a Katie Couric interview gushing, “I’m thrilled to death, thrilled to death. To have my buddy as my daughter-in-law, I mean, who could ask for more? She's a big-hearted, very good person. Very talented,"
In 1976, Reba 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 said 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." Then, in 1989, McEntire married her manager and former steel guitar player, Narvel Blackstock. Together, they took over McEntire's career, forming Starstruck Entertainment, which was originally designed to help manage her career. After the couple celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary, McEntire stated that the secrets to her enduring marriage were "Respect, faith, love, trust, and lots of patience".
Reba’s career branched into film and Broadway, starring in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Television is another one of her passions; she starred in the sitcom, Reba (2001–2007) and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. She just completed the first season as Reba McKenzie in the ABC sitcom Malibu Country and shares about her behind the scenes role as Executive Producer. “It makes a big difference for me,” she reflects, “Because I'm not a control freak, but I like to contribute. And I feel like I have great ideas. Narvel and I both work very strongly together, and to make a show better. Narvel's very good at keeping it grounded, not getting so broad, as sometimes a concept will get real broad and outlandish and it's not real. So we want it to be funny, practical, maybe a lesson in there, but it's got to be real and honest. My fans, they love honesty. So that's the thing that we have to do. I hear every pitch to the story. I see the concept as it's written. I'm in there at table read. It's just like watching a baby being born, except for some parts. But it's very important to me. And then after we do a run-through, I'm there for notes. Narvel is, too. And then we give our two cents: What worked? What didn't work? And we keep working on it until we get through Thursday night for curtain call. We work hard on it until that curtain call.”
It would be easy to paint a beautiful picture of Reba and her life but as we all know, there are good times and bad. Just as the April showers become May flowers, so the tears of tragedy for Reba turned to a new depth of emotional awareness. On March 16, 1991, a jet carrying seven members of Reba’s band and her tour manager took off from Brown Field, south of San Diego, at 1:40 A.M. The jet's wing clipped an outcropping of rock near the 3,572-foot peak of Otay Mountain east of the airfield. Investigators say the plane was going 200 mph when it cartwheeled and smashed into the side of the mountain, exploding on impact and killing all on board. McEntire was grief-stricken and thought about withdrawing from the industry, but later realized she had not been onboard that plane for a reason, and it was her destiny to continue to perform, and to know that she would forever carry the band in her heart. She is truly a model for persevering.
The Net Music Countdown reported, that "As a role model, Reba has 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."
Reba Nell McEntire will forever touch our hearts and souls with her spunk, enthusiasm, and her beautiful spirit.
In 1976, Reba 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 said 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." Then, in 1989, McEntire married her manager and former steel guitar player, Narvel Blackstock. Together, they took over McEntire's career, forming Starstruck Entertainment, which was originally designed to help manage her career. After the couple celebrated their twentieth wedding anniversary, McEntire stated that the secrets to her enduring marriage were "Respect, faith, love, trust, and lots of patience".
Reba’s career branched into film and Broadway, starring in the revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Television is another one of her passions; she starred in the sitcom, Reba (2001–2007) and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy. She just completed the first season as Reba McKenzie in the ABC sitcom Malibu Country and shares about her behind the scenes role as Executive Producer. “It makes a big difference for me,” she reflects, “Because I'm not a control freak, but I like to contribute. And I feel like I have great ideas. Narvel and I both work very strongly together, and to make a show better. Narvel's very good at keeping it grounded, not getting so broad, as sometimes a concept will get real broad and outlandish and it's not real. So we want it to be funny, practical, maybe a lesson in there, but it's got to be real and honest. My fans, they love honesty. So that's the thing that we have to do. I hear every pitch to the story. I see the concept as it's written. I'm in there at table read. It's just like watching a baby being born, except for some parts. But it's very important to me. And then after we do a run-through, I'm there for notes. Narvel is, too. And then we give our two cents: What worked? What didn't work? And we keep working on it until we get through Thursday night for curtain call. We work hard on it until that curtain call.”
It would be easy to paint a beautiful picture of Reba and her life but as we all know, there are good times and bad. Just as the April showers become May flowers, so the tears of tragedy for Reba turned to a new depth of emotional awareness. On March 16, 1991, a jet carrying seven members of Reba’s band and her tour manager took off from Brown Field, south of San Diego, at 1:40 A.M. The jet's wing clipped an outcropping of rock near the 3,572-foot peak of Otay Mountain east of the airfield. Investigators say the plane was going 200 mph when it cartwheeled and smashed into the side of the mountain, exploding on impact and killing all on board. McEntire was grief-stricken and thought about withdrawing from the industry, but later realized she had not been onboard that plane for a reason, and it was her destiny to continue to perform, and to know that she would forever carry the band in her heart. She is truly a model for persevering.
The Net Music Countdown reported, that "As a role model, Reba has 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."
Reba Nell McEntire will forever touch our hearts and souls with her spunk, enthusiasm, and her beautiful spirit.
