Grief nearly robbed Reba McEntire of her passion for music, but she managed to rekindle it.
In a recent interview on Today with Hoda & Jenna, the musician – who is widely regarded as the Queen of Country – candidly shared how she considered quitting music following her mother Jacqueline’s passing from cancer in March 2020.
McEntire, aged 68, recounted a moment when she and her sister Susie were going through their parents’ belongings after Jacqueline’s death. It was during this introspective period that she contemplated her future as a singer.
She recalled: “I was going through pictures. I said, ‘I just don’t think I’m gonna do this anymore.’ She said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Sing,'” she explained. “I said, ‘I always did it for Mama.’ She said, ‘Oh, you’ll get it back.’ I did.”
Before the career of the ‘Fancy‘ performer took flight in the 1970s, she and her siblings Susie, Alice, and Pake learned the art of singing from Jacqueline, and it was this that ignited Reba’s passion for music. She fondly remembered her mother’s encouragement, saying: “She was really encouraging for all of us kids, whatever we wanted to do. She taught us harmony.”
During their high school years, the McEntire siblings were known as “the singing McEntires,” thanks to Jacqueline’s willingness to offer feedback, especially if they missed a note.
“Anytime anybody needed an opinion of who’s off — Susie’s on my part, I’m on Susie’s part — Mama would come in with her spatula after she was frying potatoes,” McEntire recalled, mimicking her mother’s pointing gesture with the utensil. “She would say, ‘OK, Reba, you’re on Susie’s part. Sing it again.’ We’d sing it, and she’d say, ‘Oh, that’s perfect,’ and she’d go back in and keep frying potatoes.”
This week, the star of ‘Reba‘ released a lifestyle book titled ‘Not That Fancy,’ which is filled with recipes and stories from her life and career. At the same time, she unveiled a new album of the same name, featuring acoustic renditions of her hits and a new song, ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven‘.
The lovely ballad, written by Olivia Rudeen and Matt Wynn, has McEntire reflecting on what it would be like to spend seven minutes with a departed loved one in the afterlife. The first time she heard it, she thought of her mother Jacqueline.
“When you find a song that really touches your heart and chokes you up, I gotta sing it. I gotta record it, and that’s what you’re always looking for, is a song that touches your heart,” the Grammy winner said. “That way, when I sing it, hopefully it’ll touch your heart too.”
Grief is challenging for anyone to deal with, so it’s admirable that Reba McEntire continued on singing despite losing her mother.
If you like reading about Reba McEntire, you might enjoy this article about her recent debut as a coach on ‘The Voice‘!
READ MORE
- Reba McEntire remembers the day she lost her band in a horrific plane crash 32 years ago
- Heartwarming story behind Reba McEntire’s surprising Solo cup habit and family tradition
