Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight To Feature Reba McEntire

On Sunday, July 27th you and I have a date at 11 a.m. for the Sunday Morning Country Classic Spotlight featuring Reba McEntire.  We get started at 9 a.m. with the Country Classic Show. 

Reba McEntire is well  known for her elaborate stage productions and her emphasis on acting and videos.  There is no doubt she has redefined what it means to be a country star.

She spent her early years on a large cattle ranch in Oklahoma, visiting rodeos with her dad, champion calf roper Clark McEntire.  Her mother, Jackie, was a singer who greatly influenced Reba.

In June of 1976 Reba married Charlie Battles, a rodeo star ten years her senior.  She continued to ride in rodeos and also finished college.  She released her debut album in 1984 called My Kind Of Country, which produced two #1 hits, How Blue and Somebody Should Leave.

The Country Music Association recognized her as Female Vocalist of the Year and she went on to win the Female Vocalist Award three more years after that.  In 1986 she joined the Grand Ole Opry cast and in 1987 she divorced Charlie Battles. Reba then moved to Nashville from Oklahoma and began building her business enterprises.

She married Narvel Blackstock in 1989, her former steel guitarist who by then had become her road manager.

Reba has always claimed the female country audience as her first concern, addressing their lives and troubles.  She has sometimes been referred to as The Queen of Country and she is one of the best selling artists of all time, having sold more than 80 million records worldwide.

Reba's stepson, Brandon Blackstock, is married to her friend and fellow singer Kelley Clarkson.