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Reba Nell McEntire (born March 28, 1955 in
McAlester, Oklahoma) is one of the best-selling
country music performers of all time, best known
for pop ballads that include 22 #1 hits on the
Billboard Country Chart.  She has sold more than
45 million albums in the United States.

McEntire 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, and the quartet had a local hit with "The
Ballad of John McEntire", a tribute to their
grandfather.  After singing the "Star Spangled
Banner" at the National Rodeo Finals in Oklahoma
City in 1974, Red Steagall suggested that McEntire
go to Nashville to pursue a solo 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. 
She soon married Charlie Battles and earned a
teaching degree.  "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.

She won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from
the Country Music Association four times, 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.

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. 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, Forever
Love, and One Night at McCool's. Since 2001, she
has starred in the hit The WB Television
Network|WB television show, Reba.

She has a son, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock
(born 1990).

==See also==
*Best selling music artists

==External links==

* http://www.reba.com Official Site
*
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/backstagetour/mcentir
e/mcentire1.html Reba McEntire's backstage concert
rider
* imdb name|id=0005207|name=Reba McEntire