{"id":19320,"date":"2019-10-14T11:21:19","date_gmt":"2019-10-14T17:21:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/?p=1813146"},"modified":"2019-10-14T11:21:19","modified_gmt":"2019-10-14T17:21:19","slug":"reba-mcentire-cmt-artist-of-a-lifetime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/music-news\/reba-mcentire-cmt-artist-of-a-lifetime\/","title":{"rendered":"Reba McEntire: CMT Artist of a Lifetime"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/cmt.mtvnimages.com\/uri\/mgid:ao:image:cmt.com:683207?width=1200&amp;height=675&amp;.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"byline\"> by <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/author\/morrise\/\" title=\"Posts by Edward Morris\" rel=\"author\">Edward Morris<\/a><\/span> <span class=\"date\"><br \/>\n35m ago<\/span><br \/>\n<\/span> <\/p>\n<p>You could ignore half of Reba McEntire\u2019s career credits and she\u2019d still rank as a CMT Artist of a Lifetime. Just think of it: Singer, songwriter, recording artist, record producer, multi-media actress, music publisher, talent manager and booker and inspiration to generations of up-and-coming country artists. Yet, Reba \u2014 one name will do it \u2014 vows she\u2019s never operated from a grand design, instead taking opportunities as they came. Of course, she\u2019s had a hand in maximizing those opportunities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have no idea what\u2019s next,\u201d she insists as she talks with CMT about the circumstances that made her who and what she is today. \u201cI always look to the Lord for that. I always have. Because people will say, \u2019What are you going to do next year in your career?\u2019 And I\u2019ll say, \u2019I don\u2019t have a clue. Things will be presented to me.\u2019\u2026 I always had confidence. But as far as my plans for the future, I wait and listen.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U4H1iuw8KYs?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/U4H1iuw8KYs?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Fate was sending her conflicting signals when she signed her first recording contract in 1976. Everybody agreed she could belt songs out of the park. But was she singing the right songs with the right production behind them? For the first four years, the answer was, \u201cNot quite.\u201d In 1980, though, she scored her first Top 10 single, \u201cYou Lift Me Up to Heaven.\u201d The landscape got better after that.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took me so long to even have a No. 1 record,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI did not know anything about the music business. I just thought that when you got a song on the radio, you\u2019re rich. You got a bus. You got a big house. I was living in a $10 a month rent house in Chockie, Oklahoma, when my first single was released in \u201976. It wasn\u2019t until \u201983 that I had a No. 1 record [\u2019Can\u2019t Even Get the Blues.\u2019] I had a really strong foundation by that time. I\u2019d gotten to go on tours with Conway Twitty, the Statler Brothers, Ronnie Milsap and Mickey Gilley.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y1YXQvdhSws?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Y1YXQvdhSws?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Playing bars in the early days of her career nearly caused her to quit, she says. \u201cI was so allergic to smoke that I wouldn\u2019t wait to close my eyes at night when I\u2019d go to sleep because tears would just run out of my eyes. So when I finally stood up to that and said, \u2019I\u2019m not playing any more honky-tonk bars,\u2019 my first husband, Charlie Battles, said, \u2019Well, your career is over.\u2019 And I said, \u2019Well, it might as well be because I can\u2019t talk after being in smoky bars.\u2019 And that next week the Statler Brothers asked me to go open their shows on their tour.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>In 1984, Reba moved from Mercury Records, her first label, to MCA. The switch gave her the latitude and confidence to involve herself more in selecting songs and deciding how they should sound. In 1985, at the encouragement of MCA chief Jimmy Bowen, she began co-producing her albums, the first one being <i>Have I Got a Deal for You<\/i>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Es1xpUxrMhU?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Es1xpUxrMhU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>The next year she did her first music video to accompany her single \u201cWhoever\u2019s in New England\u201d (which also won her a Grammy for best country female vocal). From the start, Reba insisted her videos be mini-movies that told or hinted at a complete story, not just low-budget performance clips that were so common at the time. And she cast such familiar faces as David Keith, Bruce Boxleitner and rocker Huey Lewis in supporting roles.<\/p>\n<p>The video for \u201cIs There Life Out There,\u201d which dealt with the struggles and triumphs of a working mother, even had patches of dialogue inserted within the lyrics. It was such an impelling narrative that in 1994 it was made into a full-fledged movie that starred Reba.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kZNvjmXM7eg?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kZNvjmXM7eg?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cI think the videos were very important,\u201d she says. \u201cIt was a way to get the face, the personality, the music, the song all in one package out to the folks in a different format than them just listening to it on the radio. And they got a story. \u2026 I think there were a lot of advancements in my career because of the videos.\u201d They certainly demonstrated she could act, a talent that would come in handy later. <\/p>\n<p>And the hits just kept on coming. Between 1986 and \u201989, she scored 10 No. 1\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p>Not enough has been made of Reba as a singer of socially conscious songs \u2014 and there were many of them. Apart from the relevance of \u201cIs There Life Out There,\u201d she had such other notables as \u201cJust Across the Rio Grande\u201d (the plight of immigrants), \u201cThe Stairs\u201d (domestic abuse), \u201cBobby\u201d (mercy killing, a song Reba co-wrote), \u201cAll Dressed Up With Nowhere to Go\u201d (neglect of the elderly), \u201cThe Greatest Man I Never Knew\u201d (emotionally distant parenting) and \u201cShe Thinks His Name Was John\u201d (the dangers of one-night stands in the age of AIDS).<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jHmNksnUFdc?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jHmNksnUFdc?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>On March 16, 1991, seven members of Reba\u2019s band and her tour manager were killed in an airplane crash. The pain of that tragedy echoed through her next album, <i>For My Broken Heart<\/i>, which is probably the saddest and most heart-rending album in modern country music. It also became her bestselling album, with more than four million copies purchased.<\/p>\n<p>Reba regrouped and continued to tour to increasingly larger audiences. \u201cThey always told me you\u2019re only worth as much as how many butts you can put in the seats,\u201d she says. \u201cThey can blow smoke all day long, but when you sell the tickets that\u2019s a rate of success. And when we started selling out arenas in 20 minutes and 10 minutes, that was a pretty good feeling. So every milestone was a \u2019Yeah!\u2019 But it wasn\u2019t a \u2019Yeah! Now we can rest.\u2019 It was a \u2019Yeah! Now what can we do?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After divorcing Battles in 1987, Reba married her steel player and road manager, Narvel Blackstock. In 1988, the two established Starstruck Entertainment, not only to manage the singer\u2019s career but also to offer entertainment-related services to other clients, including recording, music publishing, managing and booking and even aircraft rental. Reba and Blackstock divorced in 2015, and he subsequently took over ownership of Starstruck. She then established her own in-house service company, Reba\u2019s Business, Inc.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hardest part about your career is not getting there, it\u2019s maintaining,\u201d she explains. \u201cAnd so you\u2019ve got to be creative, recreate yourself. That\u2019s why after doing so many tours [you think], \u2019How many more bells and whistles and smoke and mirrors can you have?\u2019 We had 22 trucks out on the road. I was changing clothes 15 times during a show and having a blast with it. But what do you do after that? That\u2019s when we went and did Broadway. I did <i>Annie Get Your Gun<\/i> for six months, and went and did the <i>Reba<\/i> TV show. That was all in 2001. And you just have to keep trying to find a new way of being Reba McEntire, and we were very successful with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cw_L8HdoYgo?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/cw_L8HdoYgo?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>Indeed, she was. <i>Reba<\/i> ran for 126 episodes. She played the lead role of Nellie Forbush in the 2006 Carnegie Hall production of <i>South Pacific<\/i>. In 2012-13, Reba starred again in the sitcom <i>Malibu Country<\/i> that ran for 18 episodes. To date, she\u2019s had 25 No. 1 songs.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2001, she\u2019s released nine albums and been inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame (2011). Last year, she was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor for her lifetime contributions to American culture. She continues her Las Vegas residency with her buddies, Brooks &amp; Dunn.<\/p>\n<p>Next month, Reba will jointly host the upcoming CMA Awards show with CMT Artist of the Year Carrie Underwood and the unsinkable Dolly Parton. That much star power together may set off the water sprinklers.<\/p>\n<div class=\"deferred_content\"> Embedded from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YpdKAwExXRQ?feature=oembed\">www.youtube.com<\/a>. <noscript class=\"deferred_content\" data-deferred-info=\"{&quot;type&quot;:&quot;iframe&quot;}\"> <iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YpdKAwExXRQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen>\t<\/iframe><\/noscript>\n<\/div>\n<p>THE STATS<br \/>35 albums (5 gold, 10 platinum, 2 double platinum, 3 triple platinum, 1 quadruple platinum)<br \/>108 singles (25 No. 1\u2019s)<br \/>Awards &amp; distinctions: Member Country Music Hall of Fame, member Grand Ole Opry, 3 Grammys, CMA entertainer of the year, ACM career achievement, Kennedy Center Honor, Drama Desk<br \/>10 Movies (including voice roles)<br \/>Lead role in <i>Reba<\/i> and <i>Malibu Country<\/i><br \/>Broadway: Lead role in <i>Annie Get Your Gun<\/i> <\/p>\n<div class=\"author\">\n<div class=\"description\"> Edward Morris is a veteran of country music journalism. He lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is a frequent contributor to CMT.com. <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cmt.com\/news\/1813146\/reba-mcentire-cmt-artist-of-a-lifetime\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: CMT News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Edward Morris 35m ago You could ignore half of Reba McEntire\u2019s career credits and she\u2019d still rank as a CMT Artist of a Lifetime. Just think of it: Singer, songwriter, recording artist, record producer, multi-media actress, music publisher, talent manager and booker and inspiration to generations of up-and-coming country artists. Yet, Reba \u2014 one [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-19320","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 00:10:45","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KRKY Ski Country","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19320","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19320"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19320\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19320"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19320"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/krky\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19320"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}