Remember When Reba McEntire Made Her Grand Ole Opry Debut in 1977?

On September 17, 1977, Reba McEntire fulfilled a lifelong dream when she made her long-awaited Grand Ole Opry debut. McEntire first visited the Opry when she was just seven years old. Sadly, she promptly had to leave early after becoming ill. But she dreamed about one day being able to perform on the revered stage.

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When McEntire was invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry for the first time, her eponymous freshman album had just been released. Her first two singles, “I Don’t Want To Be A One Night Stand” and “There’s Nothing Like The Love (Between A Woman And A Man)” failed to chart. Still, McEntire was determined.

Unfortunately for McEntire, much like her first visit as a child, her Grand Ole Opry debut didn’t go quite as planned either. She was accidentally left off the list of artists able to enter backstage.

“Mom and Daddy and my sister Alice drove 650 [or] 700 miles from Oklahoma to be with me for my debut at the Grand Ole Opry,” McEntire recalls on Late Night With Seth Meyers. “When we pulled up to the back entrance of the Grand Ole Opry, Daddy rolled down his window. The gentleman stepped up with his clipboard, and Daddy said, ‘Reba McEntire, performing on the show tonight.’ And that guy went, ‘Not tonight.’”

Although the gentleman suggested they go home, McEntire instead called her agent at a gas station nearby. Fortunately, the situation was quickly resolved.

Why Reba McEntire Only Sang One Song for Her Grand Ole Opry Debut

Being erroneously left off the guest list isn’t the only thing that didn’t go according to plan for McEntire’s Opry debut. Originally planning on singing two songs, she was later told they only had time for her to do one.

“I got inside and got my little outfit on,” McEntire remembers. “And they came up to me and said, ‘Reba, we’re gonna have to take one of your songs tonight.’ I said, ‘I only get to do one? Why?’ They said, ‘Well, Dolly Parton just pulled in the parking lot. And we’re gonna give her one of your songs.’”

Any frustration McEntire had quickly went away when she found out she was performing at the Opry the same night as her musical idol.

“I said, ‘Shoot, she can have both of ’em!’” McEntire says.

Reba McEntire was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 14, 1986. She remains a frequent Opry performer today.

“The Grand Ole Opry is a home,” McEntire says. “It’s a family. It’s like a family reunion, when you come back and get to see everybody.”

Photo by Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Grand Ole Opry