Reba Nell McEntire was born March 28, 1955, in McAlester, Oklahoma, to Jacqueline (nee Smith; born November 6, 1926) and Clark Vincent McEntire (November 30, 1927 - October 23, 2014). Her father, and her grandfather, John Wesley McEntire (February 19, 1897 - February 13, 1976), were both champion steer ropers and her father was a World Champion Steer Roper three times (1957, 1958, and 1961). John McEntire was the son of Clark Stephen McEntire (September 10, 1855 - August 15, 1935) and Helen Florida McEntire (nee Brown; May 19, 1868 - May 16, 1947).

After her split from ex-husband, Narvel Blackstock, Reba took control of her career as her own manager. She recruited Justin McIntosh of Starstruck Entertainment, Leslie Matthews serving as Brand Manager, and Carolyn Snell who has been with McEntire for nine years. They formed Reba's Business Inc. (RBI). She moved out of the building she and Blackstock had worked in, and moved her company to Green Hills, Nashville.  On December 15, 2016, McEntire announced that she was releasing her first Gospel album titled Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope. It was released by Nash Icon/Rockin' R Records on February 3, 2017, and consists of two discs. Disc one contains traditional hymns while disc two contains original tracks. "Softly and Tenderly", featuring Kelly Clarkson and Trisha Yearwood, was the first track off the album released. Another track on the album, "In the Garden/Wonderful Peace", features The Isaacs. Jay DeMarcus of the Rascal Flatts produced the album. The first single off the album is "Back to God". In January 2018, McEntire won the Grammy Award for Best Roots Gospel Album, her first nomination since 2007, and her first Grammy Award win in more than twenty years, since 1994. She also headlined the C2C: Country to Country festival in the UK alongside Brad Paisley and Zac Brown Band in March.  Because of its limited release in 2016, on October 13, 2017 My Kind of Christmas was re-released - this time including songs with Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Darius Rucker and Lauren Daigle - on her website and through iTunes.

Ask a question about this article.
What can you tell me about Rockin R?