Reba Nell McEntire (born on March 28, 1955) is a Grammy Award-winning singer and one of the best-selling country music performers of all time, known for her pop-tinged ballads that include 22 #1 hits. She has issued 29 albums, with more than 45 million records sold as of 2006.Early life
McEntire was born in McAlester, Oklahoma to Clark Vincent McEntire and Jacqueline Smith (a sharecropper's daughter); she grew up learning to ride in rodeos as well as play music. She soon formed a band with her sisters, Alice and Susie, and her brother, Pake, known as "The Singing McEntires," and the quartet had a local hit with "The Ballad of John McEntire," a tribute to their grandfather. After McEntire sang the "Star Spangled Banner" at the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma City in 1974, Red Steagall suggested that she go to Nashville, Tennessee to pursue a solo career. Around the time of the release of her first album, she married Charlie Battles, a professional steer wrestler and bulldogger, and completed her teaching degree, in case her musical career floundered.Career
With a contract to Mercury Records, McEntire began her professional career with a hard honky tonk sound, which didn't go over well at a time when country music was dominated by outlaw country artists like Willie Nelson and David Allan Coe.
"Three Sheets in the Wind"/"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" became her first charting single in 1978 (see 1978 in music), and was followed by the bigger hit "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven" (1980, 1980 in music). With more pop-oriented balladry, McEntire began to expand her audience during the early 1980s, signing to MCA Records in 1984 (see 1984 in music) and becoming one of the best-selling country artists of all time, releasing three volumes of greatest hits collections.
Her first number one single came in 1982 with "Can't Even Get The Blues No More." Since then, she's forked out 21 more chartbusters, which are all recapped on "Reba #1s" released on November 22nd, 2005. The 2-disc compilation features all 22 number one singles (according to Billboard magazine)) in chronological order, including two new tracks "You're Gonna Be" and "Love Needs A Holiday." Though officially she has had 22 number one singles in Billboard magaine, her "Reba #1s" release contains a total of 33 hit singles.
She won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association four times in a row (a record she holds with Martina McBride), and had dozens of Top Ten hits during the 80s. For her contribution to the recording industry, Reba McEntire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. In 1995, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
She is one of only five solo women (others include Shania Twain, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, "Entertainer Of The Year". Even without the major label support she had enjoyed in the 80s, McEntire continued to hit the charts through the 1990s, as well as appearing in television and film, most notably Tremors, a cult horror movie series, Forever Love, and One Night at McCool's. She also starred as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun on Broadway, receiving critical acclaim.
Since 2001, she has starred in the hit WB television show, Reba (with Texan actor Christopher Rich (American actor) as her philandering ex-husband), even getting a visit from fellow country star Dolly Parton who played Reba's character's supervisor at a real estate firm. Reba recently released a two cd compilation of her #1 songs plus two new songs, entitled "Reba: #1's".Private life
After divorcing Battles in 1987 (see 1987 in music), McEntire married Narvel Blackstock, a noted steel guitarist and the couple took control over all aspects of her career. Seven members of Reba's band and her road manager were among 10 people who died in a March 16, 1991, plane crash near San Diego, California.
She has a son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock (born 1990).Grammy awards
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