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. She has sometimes been referred to as "The Queen of Country", having sold 41 million records in the United States and more than 56 million worldwide. In the United States, she ranks as both the seventh best-selling female artist in all genres and the seventh best-selling country artist, and the second best-selling female country artist of all time, behind Shania Twain.
Early life
Reba Nell McEntire was born on March 28, 1955, outside of Kiowa, Oklahoma, to Jacqueline Smith and Clark Vincent McEntire. 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. In 1974, McEntire attended Southeastern Oklahoma State University and intended on becoming an elementary school teacher (eventually graduating December 16, 1976). 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.
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.
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".
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.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. 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. The album itself did not chart the Billboard Top Country Albums chart upon its release. 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), 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. 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. Her third studio album, Feel the Fire was released in October and spawned two additional Top 20 hit singles that year. 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.
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. 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"]). 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.
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| 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". The title track was the lead single from the release and was a number one single shortly after its release. 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. 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. The album included cover versions of "Away in a Manger", "Silent Night", and Grandpa Jones's "The Christmas Guest".=
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. 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. 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.
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.
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", 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".
1992–1996: Continued success
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| Reba McEntire's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. |
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. McEntire commented that the record was a "second chapter" to For My Broken Heart, 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." 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". 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. Like its preceding album, It's Your Call sold over a million copies, eventually certifying by the RIAA in sales of double-platinum.
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. 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. Its second single,
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. 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".
1997–1998: What If It's You
McEntire made a major comeback into the music industry the following year with her twentieth studio album, What If It's You. 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. 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". 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. 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.
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. 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. 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". 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". 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.
1999–2001: If You See Him and So Good Together
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| Reba McEntire 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. The album would eventually certify Platinum by the end of the decade. 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'".
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. The album's only other single, a cover of Kenny Rogers' "Sweet Music Man", went to No. 36.
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. 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. 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. 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. 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." 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.
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. 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. 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."
2008–2011: Move to Valory
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| Reba+McEntire+performing+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. 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. 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."
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". 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.
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. The single became McEntire's thirty fourth number one on the Billboard chart in December. 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.
On December 20, 2010, McEntire scored her 35th Billboard number one single in the U.S. with "Turn On the Radio". 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.
On March 1, 2011, the Country Music Association announced that McEntire will be inducted in the Country Music Hall of Fame. 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. 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.
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. 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. In 1998, she starred as Lizzie Brooks in Forever Love, which was based upon McEntire's hit single of the same name.
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." McEntire personally called the musical, "some of the hardest work I've ever done in my life".
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.
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. 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. 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.
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. McEntire will play a divorced mother of three who moves to Malibu, California to restart her music career. 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 network.
Musical styles and legacy
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McEntire's sound has been influenced by the country music of Bob Wills, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, and Patsy Cline. 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. 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.
McEntire possesses a contralto vocal range and performs "vocal gymnastics" with her voice, 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".
McEntire has often been 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 two 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 credited as an inspiration to other performers such as Sara Evans, Kelly Clarkson, Lee Ann Womack, Terri Clark, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood,. 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."
Awards and nominations received by Reba McEntire
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.
Reba McEntire albums discography and Reba McEntire singles discography
Studio albums
1977: Reba McEntire
1979: Out of a Dream
1980: Feel the Fire
1981: Heart to Heart
1982: Unlimited
1983: Behind the Scene
1984: Just a Little Love
1984: My Kind of Country
1985: Have I Got a Deal for You
1986: Whoever's in New England
1986: What Am I Gonna Do About You
1987: The Last One to Know
1988: Reba
1989: Sweet Sixteen
1990: Rumor Has It
1991: For My Broken Heart
1992: It's Your Call
1994: Read My Mind
1995: Starting Over
1996: What If It's You
1998: If You See Him
1999: So Good Together
2003: Room to Breathe
2007: Reba: Duets
2009: Keep On Loving You
2010: All the Women I Am
Other albums
Christmas albums
1987: Merry Christmas to You
1999: The Secret of Giving: A Christmas Collection
Live albums
1989: Reba Live
Compilation albums
1985: The Best of Reba McEntire
1986: Reba Nell McEntire
1987: Greatest Hits
1993: Greatest Hits Vol. 2
1994: Oklahoma Girl
1998: Moments and Memories: The Best of Reba
2000: I'll Be
2001: Greatest Hits Volume III: I'm a Survivor
2003: 20th Century Masters: The Christmas Collection: The Best of Reba
2005: Reba #1's
2006: 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Collection: The Best of Reba McEntire
2008: Love Revival
2008: 50 Greatest Hits
Filmography
Film
1990 Tremors Heather Gummer Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1994 Maverick spectator uncredited
1994 North Ma Tex
1994 The Little Rascals A.J. Ferguson
2001 One Night at McCool's Dr. Green
2006 The Fox and the Hound 2 Dixie voice
2006 Charlotte's Web Betsy the Cow voice
2011 Wanderlust Naomi
Television
1991 The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw Burgundy Jones
1993 Evening Shade Herself one 2-part episode: "Ava Takes a Shower"
1993 The Man From Left Field Nancy Lee Prinzi
1994 Frasier Rachael one episode; "Fortysomething"
1994 Is There Life Out There Lily Marshall
1995 Buffalo Girls Annie Oakley
1997 Diagnosis: Murder Herself 1 episode: "Murder, Country Style"
1998 Forever Love Lizzie Brooks
1998 Hercules Artemis 2 episodes: "Hercules and the Falling Stars" & "Hercules and the Caledonian Boar"
1999 Secret of Giving Rose Cameron
2001–
2007 Reba Reba Hart People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series (2002)
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (2004)
2009 The Singing Bee Herself 1 episode: Season 2 Premier, Episode 202
2010 The Buried Life Herself 1 episode : Season 2 Episode 2 "#59: Ask Out the Girl of Your Dreams (Part II)"
2010 Better With You Lorraine Ashley 1 episode : Season 1 Episode 8 "Better With Flirting)"
2011 Working Class Renee 1 episode : Season 1 Episode 4 "Sugar Mama"
2011 When I Was 17 Herself Season 2 Episode 45
All about: Kelly Clarkson, Billboard, Beyonce, Madonna, Blake Shelton, Sara Evans, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood,
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