Happy Birthday Reba! This day in Oklahoma history: March 28

Caroline Sellers/KFOR
·2 min read
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MCALESTER, Okla. (KFOR) – A popular country singer and actress was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, on March 28, 1955.

Reba McEntire, 1988. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
Reba McEntire, 1988. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

According to the Oklahoma Historical Society, Reba McEntire was born on March 28, 1955, and is the daughter of champion steer roper Clark Vincent McEntire and Jacqueline Smith McEntire.

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She grew up on her family’s ranch in Chockie in Atoka County. She attended Kiowa High School where she performed with the Kiowa High School Cowboy Band before graduating in 1973.

McEntire also performed with a family trio known as the Singing McEntires before attending Southeastern Oklahoma State University. She graduated in 1976 with a bachelor’s degree in elementary education with a minor in music.

OHS says she went on to marry champion steer wrestler Charlie Battles on June 21, 1976 in Stringtown. They later divorced in 1987. On June 3, 1989, McEntire married musician Narvel Blackstock in Lake Tahoe, Nevada. They have one child, Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock, who was born in 1990 in Nashville, Tennessee.

  • Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1993. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1988. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1988. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1986. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1986. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1984. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1984. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
  • Reba McEntire, 1984. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.
    Reba McEntire, 1984. Image courtesy Oklahoma Historical Society.

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McEntire’s first recording, “The Ballad of John McEntire”, was written about her grandfather. She was discovered in 1974 by Cowboy poet-singer Red Steagall while singing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. This led to her first major-label recording, “I Don’t Want to Be a One-Night Stand” in 1976. Her first number one song, “Can’t Even Get the Blues” was released in 1982.

She has been awarded numerous times for her music since 1978. She is also known for her acting roles, including a Broadway portrayal of Annie Oakley and “Reba”, a television comedy, both in 2001, and an autobiography published in 1994.

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