Just like any other girl with dreams, Reba looked up to some of the famous superstars like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, and Tammy Wynette, not knowing that she would become a superstar herself one day. In fact, she would go on to win the title of being the best-selling female country singer of all time!
Reba won a truck when she was 16, by writing an essay. She was named Miss Ford Country then. This must have been another fact about Reba that you haven’t known. She had the privilege to drive a new Ford for winning the contest. For six months, she took full advantage of it, drove over 18,000 miles before it was returned.
Ranches And Rodeos From an Early Age
Jacqueline McEntire, Reba’s mother, once wanted to become a country music artist herself. However, Jacqueline did not pursue her dream in the music world, and decided to become a school teacher instead. Back in the day, there was no other teacher in the community, and Jacqueline found her life purpose there instead of music. Reba’s father, Clark Vincent McEntire, and her grandfather, John Wesley McEntire, were both rodeo champion steer ropers. In fact, her father was a World Champion, not just once, but three times.
Reba was only five years old when she was already driving like a pro in her father’s truck. Just like most other farm kids, Reba helped on the family’s ranch. She and her father would feed the cattle together. Her father would be standing at the back of the truck, tossing off hay to the cattle while Reba drove.
A Musical Family
It was their mother, Jacqueline, who taught Reba and her siblings how to sing. At a very young age, they would sing and do some harmonies while they rode home from their father’s rodeo shows. Reba’s first solo performance was when she was in first grade, singing “Away in a Manger” at a Christmas play.
Reba, together with her brother, Pake and sister, Susie, formed a vocal group, singing at local rodeos. They called themselves, the “Singing McEntires,” and Reba played the guitar. Reba also sang for their local radio station, and there were times at rodeo competitions when she would be asked to sing the national anthem. She was also invited to sing at the graduation ceremony of the town’s high school when she was in third grade. How cute!
Honky-Tonking
The Singing McEntires – Reba Pake, and Susie – sang at local rodeos, country music bars, and dance halls. Together, they recorded "The Ballad of John McEntire." The song was about their grandfather, and was written by a family friend. The song sold about one thousand copies, and it appeared on the album, The Rodeo Man, in 1982.
The Singing McEntires were quite successful together in music as a group. The group’s greatest hits were “God Never Cried” and “If I Could Only Be With You.” The siblings used to perform live, and you could hear their songs play on Oklahoma local radio stations. Later on, the group disbanded. Pake went on to focus on his ranch, Susie became a successful Christian music singer, and Reba went on to go solo for country music.
A Girl With Faith
One thing that Reba learned from her mother was about passing judgement. Reba was baptized when she was still part of the Singing McEntires. One night when they were going to a gig, Reba said to her mother that she would be telling everyone present there that night that they should all go to church and hear the word of God the next morning.
Her mother asked why she thought of this, and then told her that she didn’t know if those people are already going to church. Reba learned a valuable lesson then. She said, “You don’t know what other people do. You don’t know their heart.” From then on, she decided to focus on herself rather than worrying about what others were doing. Solid logic.