Just like Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire has rightfully earned the “Queen of Country” moniker. (And the two legends’ long-standing friendship proves there’s more than enough room for two queens.) Among the most-awarded women in country music, the “Fancy” singer has released 25 No. 1 hits, sold more than 75 million records globally, and expanded her reach onto the small screen with starring roles in sitcoms like Reba and Happy’s Place. However, it may surprise you to learn that the four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year was not exactly an overnight success. On this day (Jan. 22) in 1976, she recorded her first song with Mercury Records—which went almost nowhere.
Videos by American Songwriter
Reba McEntire Didn’t See a Penny From This Song for Years
In 1974, country singer Red Steagall discovered a then 19-year-old Reba McEntire singing the national anthem at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. By November 1975, she had landed a recording contract with PolyGram/Mercury Records. Two months later, the Oklahoma native recorded her first-ever song, “I Don’t Want to Be a One Night Stand.”
The lead single off her 1977 self-title debut, “I Don’t Want to Be a One Night Stand” didn’t make quite the splash producers had hoped for. It peaked at No. 88 on the Billboard country chart, and the song’s successors—”(There’s Nothing Like the Love) Between a Woman and a Man” and “Glad I Waited Just for You”—had similar showings.
In fact, Reba never saw a dime in royalty payments from the album until 1988. By then, the three-time Grammy Award winner had left Mercury behind for MCA Records, where she began producing the more traditional sound that has since become her trademark.
“They Nurtured Me”
By now, it’s a well-documented fact that Reba McEntire didn’t see eye-to-eye with the producers at Mercury Records during the early years of her career. She wanted steel guitars and fiddles, whereas her label pushed for a softer, poppier sound. Her move to MCA in 1984 allowed the “Whoever’s in New England” singer, now 70, to make the kind of music she’d always wanted to make.
However, Reba harbors no bitterness toward those who worked with her at Mercury Records. “They could have dropped me after the first album and the first single that entered the charts at 99 and stayed there,” she said in a 2011 interview with CMT. “But they didn’t. They stayed with me and they nurtured me. I appreciate that more than you can ever imagine.”
Featured image by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.