Arts & Entertainment, Music

Performance Case Study: "Just Like Them Horses"

Lesson time 10:15 min

Reba performs "Just Like Them Horses" exclusively for her MasterClass. Watch as Reba discusses the backstory and very personal inspiration for the song, and how to pull back when your emotions are about to take over.

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Topics include: Reba's performance of "Just Like Them Horses"

Preview

The Grand Ole Opry is very important to anybody associated with country music. It's the mother church. Started out at the Ryman Auditorium, downtown Nashville, Tennessee. And then they moved the Grand Ole Opry here to Opryland. And this is where we're standing right now. It means history to anybody who knows the history of country music, knows that this is where most of it started, right here on this circle. September 17, 1977, was the first time I got to perform at the Grand Ole Opry here in Nashville, Tennessee. It was an experience that I had been waiting on for many, many years, because the only vacation we ever took as a family was to Nashville to the Grand Ole Opry, the old Ryman. And so when I was a little kid, getting to sit in the cheap seats there at the Ryman with Coke splattering through the cracks in the upper floor, because we were in the cheap seats underneath, and sneaking down, trying to get better seats when got up and used the bathroom, and the time I got sick and vomited on the front steps of the Ryman-- it's just a lot of history for me. So finally, to get to perform at the Grand Ole Opry myself was a dream come true, not only for me, but Momma and Daddy, Alice, my older sister-- they drove 700 miles from Oklahoma to come be with me for my first performance. And so when we were trying to get in here, I got all ready, got my little outfit on, my little denim skirt, my denim shirt, and my little handkerchief around my neck. We came pulling in to the back gate and Daddy said, got Reba McEntire here to sing at the Grand Ole Opry. And the guard was flipping through, and he said, I don't see your name. And Daddy, whoa, well, she's supposed to be on the show tonight. And he said, well, I don't see her name. Sorry. And Daddy said, well, what should we do? He said, well, feller, I guess you just ought to go home. And Daddy said, well, we can't do that. We drove 700 miles to be on the Grand Ole Opry. And I said, Daddy, let's go across the interstate and let me call my booking agent, which was Lavender Blake at the time. So I got out of the car and went to a pay phone. And I called Shorty Lavender. And I said, Shorty, they won't let me in the Grand Ole Opry. He said, Reba, drive back over there. I think they'll let you in soon as you get there. So we pulled across interstate, went down the road and pulled up to the guard check. And Daddy rolled down his window, and the guard said, yes, Mr. McEntire, well, let me just direct you right over here. I guess Shorty had said a few words to the guard. So took us in-- they just didn't have my name on for some reason. So I walked in. And they said, Reba, I'm terribly sorry, but the two songs that we said you could sing-- you're only going to get to sing one. I said, why? And they said, well, Dolly Parton just pulled in the parking lot, and she's going to take one of ...

About the Instructor

You know her songs. Her Oklahoma charm. Now learn directly from Reba in her first-ever online class. Join her as she records a never-before-heard song, creates a new acoustic version of Fancy, breaks down her hits, and delivers emotional performances on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. This is more than a music class. This is Reba's life, business, and country music MasterClass.

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Reba McEntire

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