Today, the wonderful Reba McEntire is 69 years old, and she has certainly earned all the praise that comes her way. Personally, it feels as though she has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I still find myself listening to her music several times a week.
But Reba’s life hasn’t always been milk and honey.
Born to Ride and Work the Land
Reba McEntire wasn’t simply born into country life — she grew up living it.
The legendary country queen was born in McAlester, Oklahoma, in 1955. However, she spent her childhood on her family’s enormous 8,000-acre ranch in the small community of Chockie in Atoka County. Her early years were shaped by hard work, determination, and Western traditions.
There wasn’t much time for relaxing on the ranch, and even as a young girl, Reba was expected to do her part.
When she was only five years old, Reba was already driving her father’s truck through the cattle fields. Well, steering may be the more accurate description, since she was too short to reach the pedals. Her father, Clark McEntire, would lift her up with a 50-pound feed sack, put the truck into “granny gear,” and allow her to steer. And it wasn’t simply something that happened once for fun — it was part of her everyday childhood.
The legendary country singer also grew up surrounded by rodeo tradition. Her grandfather, John Wesley McEntire, had been a world-champion steer roper in 1934, while her father, Clark, followed his example and won the title three times.
Her Childhood Wasn’t Glamorous
Clark McEntire wasn’t only a celebrated rodeo competitor — he was also very traditional when it came to raising his children. Reba’s father wasn’t the type to frequently hug his kids or tell them he loved them. Instead, he showed his affection through high expectations and by teaching them the importance of working hard.
Reba later reflected on this in her autobiography, For My Broken Heart: “When we were growing up, I used to regret that Daddy never told us he loved us.”
Her childhood was far from glamorous. The McEntire children — Alice, Pake, Reba, and Susie — lived in a simple gray house that had only one bathroom for the family of six.
“We weren’t no wealthy West Texas people or nothin’. It’s mostly rocky, mountain country, but enough to run a few steers on,” Reba recalled.
Although Reba learned to appreciate and handle ranch life from an early age, another dream was always pulling at her — singing. Her mother, Jacqueline McEntire, had once hoped to become a country singer herself. Instead, she devoted her life to working as a public school teacher, librarian, and secretary.
“My mama, they used to say she coulda been as big as Patsy Cline if she’d had any breaks, but she was teaching’ school by the time she was 16 or 17,” Reba once said.