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.
Up To Heaven
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the mountains touch the sky
And I've done other things in life
To lift my spirits high
But nothin' that I've ever tried to do
Has taken me as high as lovin' you
Up to heaven
When you gently lay me down
You lift me up up up
Up to heaven
Yes you make my world go round
I never try to get away
On daydreams anymore
Love's taken me to places
That I've never been before
But if it's not heaven
When you're holdin' me
Then it's the way that heaven oughta be
'cause you lift me up
Reba McEntire's song Up To Heaven speaks about the transformative power of love. The singer of the song recounts how she has tried different things throughout her life to feel uplifted and alive, such as traveling to Colorado and pursuing various interests. But nothing has compared to the feeling of being loved by someone. The lyrics emphasize how this love has lifted the singer up to heaven, bringing a sense of joy and fulfillment to her life.
The song also touches upon the idea that love can take us to places we have never been before, both physically and emotionally. It shows how being with the right person can turn ordinary experiences into something special and magical. The line "If it's not heaven when you're holding me, then it's the way that heaven ought to be" shows how the singer's experience of being in love is beyond words, almost divine in nature.
Overall, Reba McEntire's Up To Heaven is a beautiful expression of love's transformative power, and how it can lift us up to new heights of happiness and understanding.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been to Colorado
I’ve traveled to different places, but Colorado is the one I remember where the mountains meet the sky.
Where the mountains touch the sky
The mountains in Colorado are so magnificent that they seem to touch the sky to my eyes.
And I've done other things in life
I've experienced other things in life apart from traveling to Colorado and seeing those mountains.
To lift my spirits high
I did those things to bring myself to a higher state of joy.
But nothin' that I've ever tried to do
Regardless of how I try to elevate my mood, nothing compares to the effect you have on me.
Has taken me as high as lovin' you
Loving you has prompted the biggest positive change in my life so far.
'cause you lift me up up up
You raise me up with your love and care.
Up to heaven
Your affection elevates me to the highest form of happiness.
When you gently lay me down
Even when you're not actively expressing your love, I still feel its effects and it still lifts me up.
Yes you make my world go round
By being there for me, you're truly the center of my world.
I never try to get away
I have no desire to escape from the love I share with you by daydreaming anymore.
On daydreams anymore
Daydreaming no longer serves as a means of finding solace because my love for you fulfills my needs.
Love's taken me to places
Ever since we fell in love, I have discovered amazing places and feelings that were otherwise unknown to me.
That I've never been before
The experience with our love is something I've never encountered before.
But if it's not heaven
On the off chance that it's not truly heaven..
When you're holdin' me
When you're in my arms..
Then it's the way that heaven oughta be
the feeling of being together is a bit of what heaven is likely to be
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Bluewater Music Corp.
Written by: JOHNNY, BILL ZERFACE, BOB MORRISON, JIM ZERFACE, MAC RAE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Wolfhoundersful
Been to Colorado where the mountains touch the sky
And I've done other things in life to lift my spirits high
But nothing that I've ever tried to do
Has taken me as high as loving you
Cause you lift me up, up, up, up to heaven
When you gently lay me down
You lift me up, up, up, up to heaven
Yes you make my world go round
I never try to get away on daydreams anymore
Love's taken me to places that I've never been before
But if it's not heaven when you're holding me
It's the way that heaven oughta be
Cause you lift me up, up, up, up to heaven
When you gently lay me down
You lift me up, up, up, up to heaven
Yes you make my world go round
And we never leave the ground
Up, up, up, up to heaven
Yes you make my world go round
@mariagoliver1926
This song came out when I met my husband to be. He's gone home to Jesus now but when I hear Reba sing this song, I see my precious husband again, holding me close as we danced. Thanks Reba!
@Luckyandkitty
Bless you sorry for ur loss
@Mustang-cl9fe
You'll see him again. Thank Jesus Christ.
@skelter1153
He was a good Man,
and an excellent Sailor
who served his Country.
May God Bless You
and be with you in your grief, Maria.
You will be reunited with
him in Paradise 🕯✝️💐
@LoveClassicMusic0205
I'm not normally a Reba McEntire fan, but I really like this song. It's by far the best one she ever recorded.
@drlov2000
Hard too believe this song is 40 years old. I remember playing for the first time on the air, and that time it was my favorite Reba. Now 40 years later she has many favorites added to her collection.
@lesliewood6350
It's hard to find Music I used to listen when I was a Little a Girl. I love this song:) I was born in 1981. My momma listened Reba MacCantire and I remembered. She died March 14 2011. And then my cousin died she was only 19 years old she was in the Nursing Field starting young and now she's in Heaven with my mom. I love them both and I will see them again. Thank you J.W. for posting this song, you're a good man Sir. I thank you...
@terribeatty663
My dad wrote this song with his brother... Bill Zerface and Jim Zerface. :-)
@JWGauntt
awesome!! thanks so much for commenting, must be so proud, I know I would be !
@olvinyldude
He (They)wrote the perfect song, and Reba was the perfect singer..I play this all time..Thanx so much, for the music !