Reba McEntire was born in 1955 and raised on an 8000-acre ranch in Oklahoma. A child of the countryside, Reba spent much of her early life at rodeos, where her father performed as a world champion steer roper. She also studied music with her mother. Reba created her first band in the ninth grade with her siblings, but it wasn’t until she performed the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in 1974, which impressed country music star Red Steagall, that she
managed to break into the country music industry.
Reba topped the Billboard charts with her hit single, “Can’t Even Get the Blues,” and the rest is history. She became one of the most popular country musicians in the late 20th century, and also found success as a TV star in the early 2000s. To date, Reba has released over 30 albums and numerous singles. She has been recognized by the Kennedy Center Honors and the Nashville Songwriting Hall of Fame for her groundbreaking contributions to country music.
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What Are Reba McEntire’s Greatest Hits?
While her most recognizable hit song might be “I’m a Survivor” from her show Reba, there are many other chart-toppers worth listening to. The following are Reba McEntire’s songs that hit #1 on the Billboard charts, in order of the length of their tenure at the top.
- “Turn on the Radio” from All the Woman I Am (2010). In the song, Reba taunts a former beau, saying that if he misses her, he can turn on the radio and listen to her sing.
- “Consider Me Gone” from Keep On Loving You (2009). Released when McEntire was fifty-four-years-old, the song warns a man that the singer will leave him if he doesn’t shape up.
- “Whoever’s in New England” from Whoever’s in New England (1986). This song, which earned McEntire a grammy for best country music performance, chronicles a husband’s fake business trip to Boston and his wife who knows the trip is a ruse for his infidelity.
- “What Am I Gonna Do About You” from What Am I Gonna Do About You (1986). An early hit for McEntire in which she wonders how she will get over the end of a powerful love affair.
- “The Last One to Know” from The Last One to Know (1987). McEntire’s ninth song to hit number one on the charts, it revisits a familiar theme in McEntire’s career, one of a woman betrayed and picking up the pieces.
- “Somebody Should Leave” from My Kind of Country (1984). McEntire’s second consecutive chart-topper of the mid-1980s explores a loveless relationship that neither partner will leave for the sake of the children.
- “I Know How He Feels” from Reba (1988). McEntire’s eleventh chart-topper, the song describes a woman running into a former lover and his new woman, and the bittersweet memories the encounter inspires.
- “Can’t Even Get the Blues” from Unlimited (1982). Reba’s first number-one song, “Can’t Even Get the Blues” discusses a woman who has hit rock bottom in love and life, too exhausted and miserable to even get the blues.
- “You’re the First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving” from Unlimited (1982). McEntire’s second-ever #1 song, this ballad chronicles a woman who begins to contemplate leaving her husband after meeting an exciting (and no doubt attractive) new man.
- “One Promise Too Late” from What Am I Gonna Do About You (1986). Like “You’re the First Time I’ve Thought About Leaving,” this song also describes a married woman who meets a dreamy man but remains unwilling to leave her husband.
- “The Heart Won’t Lie” from It’s Your Call (1992). This duet with country music powerhouse Vince Gill is about two former lovers who reconnect after twenty years apart.
- “Is There Life Out There” from For My Broken Heart (1991). This song describes a woman wondering if she married and settled down too early as she contemplates all of the things she might have missed out on.
- “For My Broken Heart” from For My Broken Heart (1991). Originally planned as a duet with Clint Black, Reba opted to sing this song about the final day of a relationship alone.
- “You Lie” from Rumor Has It (1990). A remake of a 1988 Cee Cee Chapman song about a woman preparing to let her unhappy husband out of the marriage, in Reba’s music video version the woman symbolically releases a wild horse, signaling she has decided to let her husband go.
- “If You See Him/If You See Her” ft. Brooks and Dunn, from If You See Him (1998). This duet with Brooks and Dunn, which describes the mutual regrets of two recently-separated lovers, became the lead single for both their albums.
- “Does He Love You” ft. Linda Davis, from Greatest Hits Volume Two (1993). Recorded with her backup singer Linda Davis, the duet about two women competing for the same man won both a Grammy and a Country Music Award.
- “Cathy’s Clown” from Reba Live (1989). A cover of the 1960 Everly Brothers hit, Reba’s version shifted the narrative perspective from first to the third person, describing a situation she observes instead of one she endured.
- “Little Rock” from Whoever’s in New England (1986). In this sentimental favorite, Reba sings about a woman who decides to walk away from the life of luxury and comfort her marriage has provided in favor of seeking out somebody who truly loves her.
5 Iconic Reba McEntire Songs
These songs may not have hit number one, but they are nonetheless considered among McEntire’s greatest hits:
- 1. “Fancy,” perhaps the song most associated with Reba McEntire, it chronicles the rise of a fictional courtesan.
- 2. “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” McEntire’s remake of the Vicki Lawrence murder ballad classic.
- 3. “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” a 1992 classic loosely based on McEntire’s relationship with her father.
- 4. “The Fear of Being Alone,” though undeniably catchy, this song is perhaps most famous for its music video in which Reba first debuted her now-signature shorter hair.
- 5. “Because of You,” McEntire’s 2007 duet with her daughter-in-law (and American Idol winner) Kelly Clarkson.
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