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.
White Christmas
Reba McEntire Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the treetops glisten
And children listen
To hear the sleigh bells in the snow
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
And may all your Christmases be white
In her rendition of the classic holiday tune "White Christmas," Reba McEntire's emotive voice sings the lyrics of Irving Berlin's iconic Christmas song with a sense of longing and nostalgia. The opening line "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas" speaks to the idea of a perfect Christmas, the Christmas of the past, where the snow would cover everything and create a winter wonderland. Reba's addition to the lyrics by saying "just like the ones I used to know" reminds us of the times when the holidays were simpler, less stressful, and more innocent. The song is about the ideal Christmas- a warm and happy celebration where there is snow, caroling, and the sound of sleigh bells.
Throughout the song, the lyrics bring a sense of joy and hopefulness of what the ideal Christmas could be like. The part that stands out the most is when it speaks on children listening for sleigh bells in the snow, which brings a sense of youthful wonder and innocence. This is a song that brings fond memories of past Christmases as well as allows us to dream of ideal Christmas yet to come. The song portrays the feeling of reminiscing on a simpler time, while still looking forward to experiencing the joys of Christmas.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm dreaming of a white Christmas
I am romantically yearning for a snowy Christmas holiday, evoking memories from my past
Just like the ones I used to know
I desire for the present Christmas season to be identical to the ones I remember fondly from childhood
Where the treetops glisten
My idealized Christmas setting includes shimmering trees with freshly fallen snow, creating a picturesque scene
And children listen
The joyful sounds of children anticipating Christmas echoes throughout my dream holiday
To hear the sleigh bells in the snow
The sound of jingling sleigh bells blends harmoniously with the joyous emotions associated with Christmas
With every Christmas card I write
As I write Christmas cards to loved ones, I am consciously imagining a snowy and festive holiday season for them
May your days be merry and bright
I hope that the holiday season brings an abundance of happiness and joy to my loved ones
And may all your Christmases be white
I express my longing for each of their Christmases to be filled with the same snowy and festive magic that I hold so dearly in my heart
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Irving Berlin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind