With a contract to Mercury Records (1975), McEntire began her professional career singing heavily pop-influenced ballads, a far cry from the neotraditionalist movement she would help lead a few years later.
"I Don't Want To Be A One Night Stand" became her first charting single in 1976. Her first Top 10 hit "(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven" followed four years later, and in 1982 she scored her first #1 hit with "Can't Even Get The Blues."
Frustrated at her limited commercial success, McEntire left Mercury and signed with MCA Records in 1984. 1984's "Just A Little Love" wasn't much different form her Mercury material and was only moderately successful. However, another album followed later that same year, titled "My Kind of Country." This was a return-to-roots record, complete with fiddles and steel. It was comprised largely of covers of classic country songs, as well as original songs such as "How Blue" and the Harlan Howard-penned "Somebody Should Leave", both of which reached #1 on the Billboard country singles chart.
In the early 1990s McEntire expanded her audience by adopting a softer, more pop-oriented sound. She became one of the best-selling country artists of all time, releasing three volumes of greatest hits collections.
Since that first #1 hit in 1982, she's forked out 21 more chartbusters, which are all recapped on "Reba #1s" released on November 22nd, 2005. The 2-disc compilation features all 22 number one singles (according to Billboard magazine) in chronological order, including two new tracks "You're Gonna Be" and "Love Needs A Holiday." "Reba #1s" also contains 11 singles that reached the #1 spot in publications other than Billboard.
She won the Female Vocalist of the Year award from the Country Music Association four times in a row (a record she holds with Martina McBride), and had dozens of Top Ten hits during the 80s. For her contribution to the recording industry, Reba McEntire has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd. In 1995, she was inducted into the Western Performers Hall of Fame at the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
She is one of only six solo women (others include Shania Twain, Barbara Mandrell, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, and Taylor Swift), to win the Country Music Association's highest honor, "Entertainer Of The Year". McEntire continued to hit the charts through the 2000s, as well as appearing in television and film, most notably Tremors, a cult horror movie series, Forever Love, and One Night at McCool's. She also starred as Annie Oakley in Annie Get Your Gun on Broadway, receiving critical acclaim.
From 2001 to 2007, Reba starred in the hit WB television show, Reba (with Texan actor Christopher Rich as her philandering ex-husband), even getting a visit from fellow country star Dolly Parton who played Reba's character's supervisor at a real estate firm.
Pins And Needles
Reba McEntire Lyrics
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Pins and needles
Needles and pins
One by one I feel them at my heart again
I think I'm getting over you and then
Pins and needles
Needles and pins
I get uneasy
Every time I hear your name
I feel a sting from every memory
That we made
[Chorus]
That tiny ache
Can always find me
Anytime that you are near
Those little things
Can still remind me
That you don't care
[Chorus]
(Pins and needles
Pins and needles
Pins and needles
Needles and pins)
Reba McEntire's song "Pins And Needles" portrays the pain and uncertainty of a breakup. The lyrics evoke the sensation of being on the edge of recovery, only to be pulled back into the grip of heartache. The chorus repeats "Pins and needles, needles and pins, one by one I feel them at my heart again. I think I'm getting over you and then, pins and needles, needles and pins." This repetition builds a sense of intensity and urgency, as though the pain is becoming overwhelming.
The second verse reveals that the source of the singer's anxiety is the memory of the relationship itself. "I feel a sting from every memory that we made." The pain seems to be not only in the present, but also in the past. The bridge of the song repeats the phrase "pins and needles" several times, as though trying to stay in control of the emotions that threaten to overwhelm. Finally, the chorus repeats one last time, highlighting the uncertainty and constant cycle of hope and despair that follows a breakup.
Overall, the song can be seen as a representation of the deep and lingering pain caused by a failed relationship, evoking feelings of longing, regret, and uncertainty.
Line by Line Meaning
Pins and needles
I feel a sharp pain in my heart
Needles and pins
I feel like I'm being pricked by tiny sharp objects
One by one I feel them at my heart again
Each painful memory comes flooding back one after the other, causing me heartache
I think I'm getting over you and then
I feel like I'm finally moving on from our relationship, but then something reminds me of you and I'm back to feeling hurt
I don't know why
I can't explain why I still feel this way
I get uneasy
I feel anxious and uncomfortable
Every time I hear your name
Just hearing your name is enough to make me feel bad
I feel a sting from every memory
Each memory I have of you feels like it stings me emotionally
That tiny ache
The small emotional pain I feel
Can always find me
It's always there, waiting to bubble up and hurt me again
Anytime that you are near
Just being around you can make me feel bad
Those little things
Small reminders of our past
Can still remind me
They still have the power to bring up painful emotions
(Pins and needles
Pins and needles
Pins and needles
Needles and pins)
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CHIP HARDY, JANIS L. CARNES, RICK CARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind