Reba McEntire’s upbringing lent itself to her music career.
In a new Variety cover story interview, the Queen of Country recalled entering the music industry after getting discovered while singing the national anthem at a 1974 rodeo and spoke about realizing the two worlds were more similar than people might think.
“When I started out in the music business, I didn’t know anything about it,” said McEntire, whose late father, Clark, was a champion steer roper and got inducted into the Texas Rodeo Hall of Fame.
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Victoria Stevens for Variety
Reba McEntire
“What I did know is that in rodeo and ranching, it’s a man’s world: You insert yourself, you work your ass off,” continued the “Fancy” singer. “You don’t bitch about it, you don’t complain, you just work harder.”
McEntire added, “When I got into the music business, that work ethic was still there.”
Approaching musicianship with the ethos of a rodeo performer has clearly paid off for the Happy’s Place star, who’s earned 24 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and won three Grammy Awards in her career.
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In April 2023, McEntire became the third person in her family to play New York City’s Madison Square Garden after both her grandfather and father previously roped in rodeos at the arena.
“I went in [thinking], ‘It’s just another arena’ because it holds such history for me and my family. Grandpap roped there during the rodeo in the ’30s, daddy roped there during the rodeo in the ’40s, and it felt like they were with us there at Madison Square Garden Saturday night,” she previously told Today.
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Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty
Reba McEntire in October 2024
Elsewhere in McEntire’s Variety interview, she opened up about feeling grateful for anyone who’s supported her music over the years. “I thank God for the fans because they are people who travel, spend their hard-earned money to buy tickets, to buy albums,” she said.
“They’re faithful,” added the “Turn On the Radio” artist. “And I don’t care what kind of entertainment business you’re in, whether it’s race cars or movies, singing or writing books. If you don’t have the fans, you might as well be singing in the shower, because they’re the ones that put food on our tables.”
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