The mission completed, intermission is over, back to the history, starting today with Reba McEntire’s burgeoning acting career. In 1989, Reba made her movie debut playing Heather Gummer in the SF horror comedy Tremors, alongside Kevin Bacon. In the cult film, Gummer was a gun-toting resident of a small Nevada town terrorised by giant subterranean worm monsters called "Graboids." Kevin Bacon could have never gotten out of that mess without her! The film earned Reba a nomination for Best Supporting Actress at the 1991 Saturn Awards (for SF movies). After the film's release in 1990, Reba, who had already made some notable videos for her hit singles (unlike George Strait’s reluctantly acted slap-dash cheesy videos) developed a strong interest in serious acting and made it her second career. In 1992, she starred along with Kenny Rogers and Burt Reynolds in the TV movies The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw and The Man From Left Field.
In 1994, McEntire worked with director Rob Reiner in the film North, playing Ma Tex and starred in Is There Life Out There? a TV movie based on her hit single. The following year, she appeared in Buffalo Girls, which was based upon the life of western cowgirl Calamity Jane (played by Anjelica Huston), playing Jane's friend Annie Oakley. It was nominated for an Emmy award. Much more of her film and TV career was to follow, but it’s time to return to Reba’s music, picking up from where we left off a few days back with the next single from her 1992 “For My Bromen Heart” album.
As outlined in the previous post, her 1991 “For My Broken Heart“ album was recorded during a particularly difficult time in McEntire's life, her first release after the tragic plane crash that killed 8 members of her band. The emotional weight of that period is palpable in McEntire's heartfelt performance.
‘The Nights The Lights Went Out In Georgia’, originally written by Bobby Russell, was famously recorded by his actress wife, Vicki Lawrence in 1972, topping the pop chart. McEntire scored a # 12 hit in 1992 with her cover in 1997. breainge a string of 24 consecutive Top 10 singles going back to 1984, though it peaked at # 7 in Canada (where Reba had also chalked up 12 # 1 hits, including 6 since 1990) . However, it’s another of Reba’s songs that have endured to become one of her most well-known tunes.
The masterfully written song vividly depicts a gripping Southern gothic tale of betrayal, murder, mystery and wrongful justice - with a surprise twist at the end, which many, or most, miss by not listening carefully to the lyrics. McEntire's powerful cover brings new intensity to this dark narrative, capturing the song's haunting, mena, southern atmosphere with her rich, emotive vocals -
‘The Greatest Man I Never Knew’ loosely based on Reba’s fraught relationship with her father (as outlined on her opening post, is one of the most poignant in her career. Penned by Richard Leigh and Laying Martine Jr., released in 1992 as the fourth and final single from her “For My Broken Heart” album and reached # 3 in 1992. It narrates a daughter's reflections on her emotionally distant father, whom she never truly knew despite living under the same roof. It features a stunning vocal performance that is all grief and regret and even a little bit of resentment intertwined, as she mourns the man who kept his distance while he sacrificed all of himself for her - but could never find the words or physical affection to express to his daughter just how much she was loved.
She mourns for what’s been lost and what was never found, for what had been and for what never was. When people wonder why Reba is considered one of the finest country music vocalists of all time, listen to this.
“… Then the days turned into years / and the memories to black and white. / He grew cold like an old winter wind /
blowing across my life … / … He was good at business / but there was business left to do / He never said he loved me /
guess he thought I knew" -
I wrote above that the song was “loosely based on Reba’s fraught relationship with her father”, I did mean only loosely - in fact, her father was still well and truly alive when this was released in 1992. As is often the case, as Reba grew and her career took off - and as her father mellowed with age along the way, their relationship grew closer than in her youth. He died peacefully in 2014 at aged 86 and in 2016, Reba released a single,’Just Like Them Horses’, in his memory
‘The Heart Won’t Lie’ written by Kim Carnes and Donna Terry Weiss, a duet with Vince Gil, was released in 1993 as the second single from Reba's “It's Your Call” album, duly going all the way to # 1 in both the U.S. and Canada. The multi-talented Vince Gill was in the middle of a much longer string of chart-toppers, with this being the 4th of 10 straight chart toppers. Gill was already the best harmony singer to come along since Emmylou Harris, so his strong support throughout the track was inevitable. But he shows off a bit himself on his verse, not quite matching Reba’s vocal acrobatics but doing a few cartwheels and handsprings of his own.
Not so much country, it’s really an 1980’s power pop like ballad masquerading as a 1990’s country song, with just enough steel guitar and twangy vocals to distract from the opaque lyrics and bombastic chorus. Still, it kinda makes for an entertaining showcase of two incredibly distinctive vocal powerhouses. Then there’s that epic 1990’s video homage to An Officer and a Gentleman, which brought the whole “this is a major event” vibe to another level. All in all, it’s an entertaining big star flex from two future Hall of Famers who were quite aware just how big they – and country music – had become by 1993 -
Written by Sandy Knox and Billy Stritch, ‘Does He Love You’ is another duet, this time with Linda Davis. It was released in 1993 as the first single from Reba's compilation album “Greatest Hits Volume 2” . While Reba’s previous 2 singles had also gone # 1, Linda Davis was without a recording contract at all at the time she recorded ‘Does He Love You’. But McEntire was a big fan of Linda’s voice, and employed her on the road as her main backup singer.
‘Does He Love You’ was a massive 1992 hit, thanks to a cinematic music video and the 2 powerhouse vocal performances, with Linda Davis more than standing her own while going up against - or, ore correctly, with - one of the all-time greats at her career peak. The song itself seems anachronistic even for 1993 - it was originally written in 1982 and pitched to Barbara Mandrell and to Liza Minnelli - who eventually recorded it as a duet with Donna Summer in 1996.
The lyrics tell the tale of a wife and a mistress desperately wondering who their man really loves - rather than just showing the cheating cad the door and leaving him on his own. It all has the sheen of that early 1980’s pop-country that kept one foot in 1970’s R&B, despite the presence of two pure country vocalists doing their best to inject a bit of twang. The fireworks and bombast of Reba at her syllable-stretching best is what really makes this record work far better than it really should. Reba sings the hell out of her part and somehow Linda Davis goes toe-to-toe with her. This was before diva-like belting became commonplace later in the decade, so it really was something special in 1993. I don’t love it - this sure ain’t to my taste - but I can still respect it -
The success of ‘Does He Love You’, which won both a CMA and a Grammy, revived Linda Davis’ career, being promptly signed by Arista in the aftermath. She subsequently produced 2 albums and higher charting Top 20 singles than her previous work. Davis is also the mother of Hillary Scott, who found success in the band Lady Antebellum (now Lady A).
In 2021, Reba released another duet version of ‘Does He Love You’ - this time, not with a struggling singer but with another country legend, Dolly Parton.
‘Why Haven’t I Heard From You’, written by Sandy Knox and T. W. Hale, was released in 1994 as the first single from her 19th studio album, “Read My Mind“. Reaching # 5 in 1994, this light-hearted, upbeat, sassy stomper, with its R&B and gospel choir influences, provides a nice levity to Reba’s heavy material as she explains the creation of the phone, notes that there’s one virtually everywhere these days (but mobiles weren’t yet much of a thing just yet) and, therefore, no reason that she should be left hanging -
By mid-1994, after a dozen years at or near the top, Reba McEntire was still charting hits, taking 18 all the way to # 1 and 14 more Top 5 (and in Canada, the tally was 16 at # 1 and 18 more iTop 5). Then there was her blossoming acting career for a sideline. As you would’ve noticed, her sound had changed since the neo-traditionalist 1989’s to a more varied contemporary sound, with a mixture of influences. Unlike other neo-traditionalist artists, it was Reba’s twangy Oklahoman accent that kept her sound country, rather than the instrumental accompaniment. But enough for today. Hopefully, I’ll be back tomorrow following Reba’s career deeper into the 1990’s.
In 1994, McEntire worked with director Rob Reiner in the film North, playing Ma Tex and starred in Is There Life Out There? a TV movie based on her hit single. The following year, she appeared in Buffalo Girls, which was based upon the life of western cowgirl Calamity Jane (played by Anjelica Huston), playing Jane's friend Annie Oakley. It was nominated for an Emmy award. Much more of her film and TV career was to follow, but it’s time to return to Reba’s music, picking up from where we left off a few days back with the next single from her 1992 “For My Bromen Heart” album.
As outlined in the previous post, her 1991 “For My Broken Heart“ album was recorded during a particularly difficult time in McEntire's life, her first release after the tragic plane crash that killed 8 members of her band. The emotional weight of that period is palpable in McEntire's heartfelt performance.
‘The Nights The Lights Went Out In Georgia’, originally written by Bobby Russell, was famously recorded by his actress wife, Vicki Lawrence in 1972, topping the pop chart. McEntire scored a # 12 hit in 1992 with her cover in 1997. breainge a string of 24 consecutive Top 10 singles going back to 1984, though it peaked at # 7 in Canada (where Reba had also chalked up 12 # 1 hits, including 6 since 1990) . However, it’s another of Reba’s songs that have endured to become one of her most well-known tunes.
The masterfully written song vividly depicts a gripping Southern gothic tale of betrayal, murder, mystery and wrongful justice - with a surprise twist at the end, which many, or most, miss by not listening carefully to the lyrics. McEntire's powerful cover brings new intensity to this dark narrative, capturing the song's haunting, mena, southern atmosphere with her rich, emotive vocals -
‘The Greatest Man I Never Knew’ loosely based on Reba’s fraught relationship with her father (as outlined on her opening post, is one of the most poignant in her career. Penned by Richard Leigh and Laying Martine Jr., released in 1992 as the fourth and final single from her “For My Broken Heart” album and reached # 3 in 1992. It narrates a daughter's reflections on her emotionally distant father, whom she never truly knew despite living under the same roof. It features a stunning vocal performance that is all grief and regret and even a little bit of resentment intertwined, as she mourns the man who kept his distance while he sacrificed all of himself for her - but could never find the words or physical affection to express to his daughter just how much she was loved.
She mourns for what’s been lost and what was never found, for what had been and for what never was. When people wonder why Reba is considered one of the finest country music vocalists of all time, listen to this.
“… Then the days turned into years / and the memories to black and white. / He grew cold like an old winter wind /
blowing across my life … / … He was good at business / but there was business left to do / He never said he loved me /
guess he thought I knew" -
I wrote above that the song was “loosely based on Reba’s fraught relationship with her father”, I did mean only loosely - in fact, her father was still well and truly alive when this was released in 1992. As is often the case, as Reba grew and her career took off - and as her father mellowed with age along the way, their relationship grew closer than in her youth. He died peacefully in 2014 at aged 86 and in 2016, Reba released a single,’Just Like Them Horses’, in his memory
‘The Heart Won’t Lie’ written by Kim Carnes and Donna Terry Weiss, a duet with Vince Gil, was released in 1993 as the second single from Reba's “It's Your Call” album, duly going all the way to # 1 in both the U.S. and Canada. The multi-talented Vince Gill was in the middle of a much longer string of chart-toppers, with this being the 4th of 10 straight chart toppers. Gill was already the best harmony singer to come along since Emmylou Harris, so his strong support throughout the track was inevitable. But he shows off a bit himself on his verse, not quite matching Reba’s vocal acrobatics but doing a few cartwheels and handsprings of his own.
Not so much country, it’s really an 1980’s power pop like ballad masquerading as a 1990’s country song, with just enough steel guitar and twangy vocals to distract from the opaque lyrics and bombastic chorus. Still, it kinda makes for an entertaining showcase of two incredibly distinctive vocal powerhouses. Then there’s that epic 1990’s video homage to An Officer and a Gentleman, which brought the whole “this is a major event” vibe to another level. All in all, it’s an entertaining big star flex from two future Hall of Famers who were quite aware just how big they – and country music – had become by 1993 -
Written by Sandy Knox and Billy Stritch, ‘Does He Love You’ is another duet, this time with Linda Davis. It was released in 1993 as the first single from Reba's compilation album “Greatest Hits Volume 2” . While Reba’s previous 2 singles had also gone # 1, Linda Davis was without a recording contract at all at the time she recorded ‘Does He Love You’. But McEntire was a big fan of Linda’s voice, and employed her on the road as her main backup singer.
‘Does He Love You’ was a massive 1992 hit, thanks to a cinematic music video and the 2 powerhouse vocal performances, with Linda Davis more than standing her own while going up against - or, ore correctly, with - one of the all-time greats at her career peak. The song itself seems anachronistic even for 1993 - it was originally written in 1982 and pitched to Barbara Mandrell and to Liza Minnelli - who eventually recorded it as a duet with Donna Summer in 1996.
The lyrics tell the tale of a wife and a mistress desperately wondering who their man really loves - rather than just showing the cheating cad the door and leaving him on his own. It all has the sheen of that early 1980’s pop-country that kept one foot in 1970’s R&B, despite the presence of two pure country vocalists doing their best to inject a bit of twang. The fireworks and bombast of Reba at her syllable-stretching best is what really makes this record work far better than it really should. Reba sings the hell out of her part and somehow Linda Davis goes toe-to-toe with her. This was before diva-like belting became commonplace later in the decade, so it really was something special in 1993. I don’t love it - this sure ain’t to my taste - but I can still respect it -
The success of ‘Does He Love You’, which won both a CMA and a Grammy, revived Linda Davis’ career, being promptly signed by Arista in the aftermath. She subsequently produced 2 albums and higher charting Top 20 singles than her previous work. Davis is also the mother of Hillary Scott, who found success in the band Lady Antebellum (now Lady A).
In 2021, Reba released another duet version of ‘Does He Love You’ - this time, not with a struggling singer but with another country legend, Dolly Parton.
‘Why Haven’t I Heard From You’, written by Sandy Knox and T. W. Hale, was released in 1994 as the first single from her 19th studio album, “Read My Mind“. Reaching # 5 in 1994, this light-hearted, upbeat, sassy stomper, with its R&B and gospel choir influences, provides a nice levity to Reba’s heavy material as she explains the creation of the phone, notes that there’s one virtually everywhere these days (but mobiles weren’t yet much of a thing just yet) and, therefore, no reason that she should be left hanging -
By mid-1994, after a dozen years at or near the top, Reba McEntire was still charting hits, taking 18 all the way to # 1 and 14 more Top 5 (and in Canada, the tally was 16 at # 1 and 18 more iTop 5). Then there was her blossoming acting career for a sideline. As you would’ve noticed, her sound had changed since the neo-traditionalist 1989’s to a more varied contemporary sound, with a mixture of influences. Unlike other neo-traditionalist artists, it was Reba’s twangy Oklahoman accent that kept her sound country, rather than the instrumental accompaniment. But enough for today. Hopefully, I’ll be back tomorrow following Reba’s career deeper into the 1990’s.
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