Reba McEntire is a cowgirl through and through.
The country music and Western industry go hand in hand as the genre’s lyrics often intertwine the ranching way of life, talking about the simple things, the hard work that goes into keeping a farm functional, and the work ethic kids raised on the farm inherit. Many artists have experienced some aspects of the Western way of life before pursuing a music career; whether that’s showing horses, spending time with family that ranches, or growing up in a rural town, it’s always present in the lyrics many folks sing.
Reba McEntire, however, embodied every sense of the lifestyle that inspired country music growing up. McEntire was born in March 1955 to parents Clark and Jackie McEntire and grew up on an 8,000-acre ranch in Chockie, Oklahoma, where they ran nearly 1,000 head of cattle yearly. With that many head of cattle, McEntire was put to work at a young age, instilling the idea that you have to work for success.
“I began working on our ranch at age 5. If Daddy needed a driver to move grain in his pickup truck, he came in and got whoever was there. I was so little that Daddy put a 50-pound feed sack on the driver’s seat before putting me on top of it. I’d be on my knees to work the steering wheel. He’d put the truck in granny gear, jump out, and off I’d go.”
The “Survivor” singer said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that Reba and her siblings had a large responsibility on the ranch and were often tasked with important duties as they got older.
“Daddy was gone rodeoing between June and September. Running that big ranch while he was away fell to us kids. We also had a hired hand, Louie Sandman, and Grandpap, John McEntire, who was a champion steer roper himself.”
Throughout middle and high school, Reba worked on the ranch in the mornings with her brother, Pake. Then, she loaded up and headed to school, returning home to finish chores. Although Reba looks back on her childhood fondly, she knew from an early age that she wanted to do something more than ranching with her life- she knew from a young age that she wanted to pursue a music career.
“I always wanted to be on stage. I was the third of four kids, so I was pretty much invisible. I had to carve out something for me to gain attention, and that was singing. Performing gained Mama’s adoration. I yearned to hear her say, ‘That was real good, Reba.’”
Soon after, Reba began performing the national anthem at local rodeos, and her powerful vocals garnered the attention of larger rodeos, who asked her to sing for them. Fast-forward to Reba singing the “Star Spangled Banner” at the 1974 National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. The performance kickstarted her musical career, as attendees were enthralled with her natural talent.
@whiskeyriff The performance that put Reba on the map. // 🎥: Supersporty34 (YouTube) #whiskeyriff #reba #nfr #starspangledbanner ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff
While this greatly kickstarted her career, Reba still worked heavily on the farm and rode with her father on weekends. However, as she began to perform more, her father wanted her to give up barrel racing (which McEntire was self-admittedly not the best at) and focus only on singing.
“Daddy once asked me, ‘Reba, why do you always want to do something you’re not good at?'”
Eventually, Reba did hang up the bridle for a microphone. She is always thankful for her upbringing and feels that the work ethic she gained growing up on the ranch contributed to her success.
“The kind of drive I learned on horseback set me up for building a career in music. In this industry, the key thing to do is just keep going and keep racing against yourself. There are a lot of talented, hard-working people in the world, but I’m convinced that it’s the ones with an unshakable belief in themselves who end up succeeding most often. Or maybe it’s those who are just too stubborn to know when to quit.”
That work ethic still shines as Reba is now a Grammy Award-winning artist, an actress, and a coach on the hit competition show The Voice. Even as a living legend, she still pushes herself to help those coming up in the industry and her talents personally, seeing how they can grow.
Reba McEntire can walk the walk and talk the talk when it comes to singing about working on the farm and being involved in the Western industry.
“I didn’t play cowgirl growing up. I was one.”
