Reba: My Story (46 page)

When we had two days off, we hopped a sleeper train and went up to Edinburgh, Scotland, then drove up to St. Andrews. It’s said that’s where the McEntire clan came from. We went and found our crest and coat of arms for the McEntire and Blackstock clans. So it was neat to see where our ancestors started.

I should add here that playing Annie Oakley was a dream come true. I was a huge fan of hers when I was a kid. I always wanted to have a buckskin shirt and skirt like she wore. But when they showed me the clothes I was to wear in the movie, I couldn’t believe it! They were very nice but not as flashy as I thought they would be! And you know I like flash! I found out that Annie made all of her own clothes and was a very practical person. She made them out of material that wouldn’t wrinkle and had a trunk made just the right width so she could lay them out flat.

I found out some other interesting things about Annie during the filming. She stood up for women’s rights, animal rights, and better pay for the people in the Wild West show. No wonder I was such a big fan of hers.

When they were fitting me for my costumes, Van Broughton Ramsey, the designer, asked me if I was going to wear my diamond stud earrings during the filming. I thought he was kidding. Maybe he thought because I wore them all the time that I would insist on wearing them in the movie. I said, “No, of course not. Annie didn’t wear this kind of earring, did she?”

Van told me that Annie did indeed wear diamond stud earrings, which was very unusual for that period. So I guess Annie and I did have a few more things in common than just liking that attention from an audience.

After
Buffalo Girls
came out, I decided to take a little break from the movies. I had quite a few projects in 1994, with three movies, a book, an album, and 125 shows. So I thought I’d “take a little west,” as Shelby would say. But I have met with some great people with some very interesting ideas for movie parts that will hopefully materialize in ’96. So keep your fingers crossed for me.

As I write today, we are already halfway through 1995—and what a fun year it has been so far. We put together the new show in January, right after I returned from England. During our second run-through of the day, my stage manager, Tom Nisun, held up a sign to let me
know how I did in the American Music Awards, which were happening during our rehearsal. I was nominated for Favorite Female Country Artist and Favorite Country Album. When Tom held up a sign saying I had been given both honors, I almost jumped off the stage. I hated not being there to accept them in person, but … the show must go on!

Narvel had been coordinating and putting the whole show together since June of 1994. Not by himself, by any means, but he is the director, he makes the final decision. In other words, the buck stops there! As a matter of fact, he was in a long meeting with Tom Strand and Larry Hitchcock, who designed the stage, Peter Morse, who designed the lights, my production manager, Brian Leedham, my choreographer, Jerry Evans, video coordinator Steve Daniels, and Sandi Spika the same day I went to meet with Suzanne de Passe of
Buffalo Girls
. Everyone has to keep the projects working. Narvel always says that you pour all you can into the funnel, never knowing what will come out.

With me working on the movie, the band and dancers in rehearsals, Sandi and her team sewing up a storm, and everyone else doing their respective parts, it finally came together in two long, hardworking weeks in Florida. We went from the top, one song at a time, with choreography, blocking, lighting, entrances, etc. Then, when we had that, we added the costumes.

It’s a fun show for me, with fourteen costume changes, three dance numbers with my ten dancers, doing songs that the best songwriters in the business have written. And then I perform them with the greatest band—mine. I really appreciate my band, singers, dancers, and crew. They work hard and they play hard. But most of all, they take great pride in everything they do. If someone makes a mistake, there is nothing I can say that would be as hard on them as what they would say to themselves.

That’s reassuring when you have thirteen trucks and five buses rolling down the road doing 125 shows a year all
across the United States and Canada. If you haven’t seen our show, please come out and see us. It’s okay to bring the whole family too.

The Starstruck teams based in Nashville have been very busy too. Every division has grown so much that our construction company is really working hard to hurry and finish the new office down on Music Row. It will have 25,000 square feet and three stories, with an underground garage.

As for the farm, we’ve had a lot of fun with the thoroughbred horse racing this year. They didn’t run as fast as we would have liked, but this year was so much better than last year, we are very pleased with the progress they have made. Rich Man’s Gold was our entry in the Arkansas Derby. He’s a beautiful three-year-old chestnut stallion that we bought at the Keeneland July summer sale in Lexington, Kentucky. He was having a great year with Lynn Whiting as his trainer.

We were playing a concert in Miami, Florida, the day of the Arkansas Derby (which was held in Hot Springs, Arkansas), so we didn’t get to go. But we did get to see the simulcast at the track in Miami. Narvel, Sandi, Joe Gehl and his daughter, Shelby, his nanny Michelle, and I all went over to watch. Narvel and I both stood there with our hearts pounding in our chests so hard, we both thought we’d have heart attacks!! Rich Man’s Gold didn’t even place. If he had placed at the Arkansas Derby, he would have had a great shot at the Kentucky Derby. But it wasn’t meant to be. Oh well, there’ll always be another race.

Right now, we have three new babies at the farm, with four of the mares pregnant. The yearlings are growing into beautiful prospects for the track, and the others are already in training or at a track somewhere. Thoroughbred horse racing is so exciting, it gets in your blood. There are lots of great people involved in it too.

Although May and June are our vacation months, they both became very busy and action packed this year. Starting
out in May, the Academy of Country Music voted me their Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year. Then in June at the TNN/Music City News Awards show, I received the Female Vocalist Award. Thanks to all of you who voted for me. I will cherish these awards always.

As I said earlier, the first Female Vocalist Award I received was in 1984, and the first and only Entertainer of the Year Award was in 1986. Throughout the years, at each of the awards ceremonies, I always wanted to win, but I braced myself with the realization that I’ve already won; now it’s someone else’s time. To get to walk up the steps and receive another award after all these years is even better than the first time.

In the early years I was dreaming for the awards, but I really didn’t know what to do to get them—except to get up there and sing. I guessed that was about all I could do. Once you win, you want it over and over. That great feeling of love and acceptance is undescribable. To be honest, I don’t know if I will ever get over wanting to win. But I’ve found out there are different ways of winning.

Like being on a winning team.

I had the great honor of being involved with another Habitat for Humanity house this year. More people contributed, and even more ladies were there to help hammer and nail. And thanks to my fans, the money for the house to be built in 1996 is already in the bank, drawing interest. How, you may wonder, did these wonderful people contribute to building the house? Well, it all started when I decided one day to clean out my closets. A dangerous chore, as many of you can relate. But it had to be done.

The end result was an auction at my 1995 fan club party during Fan Fair. We sold some of my stage clothes, movie scripts, after-show clothes, and show props. All the money raised went to the new Habitat house. In addition to the auction, we put on a show with special surprise guests Toby Keith, 4 Runner, Rhett Atkins, Linda Davis, Susie Luchsinger, John Berry, Tracy Byrd, and Faith Hill. My
band and singers did a great job backing everyone. It was a fun and entertaining show. Then, one at a time, we went over to a couch and chair and I visited with each entertainer.

This was the first year I haven’t signed autographs and taken pictures with the fans at Fan Fair. It really disappointed a lot of my fans, but last year I signed and took pictures from 1:30 in the afternoon until 4:45 the next morning. Narvel, Sandi, Cindy Owen, Graeme Lagden, Mike Smith, and a few others stayed there the whole time handing me things to autograph, taking pictures, and helping people through the line. They work real hard at anything they do, but I didn’t want to ask them to go through that again. And I certainly didn’t want to do it again. I also think more of my fans than that. I know they were tired. I was, and I got to sit down all the time. Also, fortunately, the fan club continues to grow by leaps and bounds. So it was pretty easy to guess that the lines would have been even longer this year for autographs and pictures if we had done it.

I hope everyone had fun at this year’s Fan Fair party. I know the recipient of the Habitat house will appreciate your being there almost as much as I do.

Not wanting to darken the mood, but I want to express my sincere sympathy to all the families of the victims killed in the Oklahoma City bombing. From my experience dealing with death and tragedy, I can tell you the hurt never goes away. It lessens in severity, but, like the song says, I only turned a lighter shade of blue.

Being from Oklahoma, I want to say how proud I am of how my fellow “Okies” handled the situation. To all the volunteers, the rescuers, and friends, I don’t know how you did it, but without all of you, the job wouldn’t have gotten done. I pray the wounds that hurt so bad heal soon. Remember, life goes on. That’s the way they would want it.

Perhaps my biggest professional news for 1995 is the fact that I am celebrating my twentieth year in the music
business (I signed with Polygram-Mercury in 1975). Yes, I was a child bride! Hard to believe I’ve been doing this for twenty years … It is a blessing I didn’t even know how to dream for, but one I am very thankful for. To be able to do what you love for a living is truly a gift from God.

People have asked me what the highlight of my career has been so far. Actually, I hope I haven’t seen it yet! That gives me even more to look forward to. It really is an impossible question to answer, because so far there has been no one single highlight. My career has consisted of stepping-stones. Each achievement, accomplishment, trophy, victory, sale of a ticket and record was received with equal thrill and excitement.

If I was pressed for an answer, it would have to be this: the greatest thing I’ve gotten out of all this is my friends.

So here we are in 1995, and I feel like I’m starting over again. That’s why we named the new release
Starting Over
. Could it go another twenty years? I’m a firm believer in this business. If you’re willing to work, put good material in your recordings and shows, and give it everything you’ve got, you can work as long as you want.

We’ve worked really hard over the years trying new things, and always keeping them fresh, fun, and interesting. Our philosophy is, if we’re entertained and having fun, hopefully our audience will be too.

Which brings me to the new album. Last year when Narvel and I were coming home from our vacation in the Baltic Sea, we came through London and started discussing this album project. We wanted to select songs that had influenced me over the span of my career. So I went all the way back to when I was in junior high school, and remembered my favorite songs Pake, Susie, and I had performed as the Singing McEntires. In addition to the songs that influenced me, I also picked out certain artists. I’d like to tell you about some of them.

I remember Mama and Daddy really liked Ray Price.
They’d go to dance halls and watch Ray perform. Mama had quite a few of his albums, so his music was heard frequently in our home. It was only natural that one of his songs would wind up on my
Starting Over
CD. I chose “I Won’t Mention It Again.” It’s so sad, so full of emotion. It’s so bad to be in that position. I don’t know why I’ve always liked sad songs so much. But it seems the older I get, the harder they hit me.

Some nights, sad songs like “For My Broken Heart” and “The Greatest Man I Never Knew” are almost impossible to get through. One night it must have been especially difficult for me because Narvel had someone set a glass of water on the edge of the stage. But it was total emotion gripping me that night, not a frog in my throat.

It doesn’t really matter what the subject matter is … basically a sad song is a sad song. With, of course, one exception: homesickness. That’s the worst. Do you remember the stories I told you about calling home and everyone there having a great time and I’m in a hotel room seven hundred miles away wanting to be there so bad I can’t stand it? Or when I went to basketball camp and called home to Mama crying?

I guess that’s why I chose the Bobby Bear/Peter, Paul and Mary song “500 Miles Away from Home.” It is for all the little redheaded girls who weren’t as brave as they thought, once they left home. But like Mama said, “You can always come back home.” If there is anyone out there reading this and you aren’t sure if you would be welcomed back home, call and find out. Please do it for you and me.

Narvel thinks “Starting Over Again,” the Dolly Parton song that Donna Summer and her husband, Bruce Sudano, wrote, is the saddest song on the CD. It’s really hard on people who have gone through divorce and have children involved.

Dolly has always been someone I’ve looked up to. Her talent, humor, business sense, and compassion for her family
and the people she grew up with is something I’ve always admired.

Dolly recorded an album several years ago with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris. I’m a huge fan of theirs also. Whenever we needed an up-tempo song for our stage show, I’d get out Linda’s or Emmylou’s albums.

I was having a hard time finding exactly what I wanted in the way of up-tempo numbers for this CD. While we were in the studio working on the album, I was talking to the session musicians about it and Leland Sklar offered to go by Tower Records and see what he could find. He’s played on almost every Ronstadt, Carly Simon, and Phil Collins record there is, so I was pretty sure he would come up with something. The next day he came back with Linda’s
Greatest Hits
. That’s how I came to pick “You’re No Good” and “Heat Wave.” Thanks, Lee.