Reba McEntire’s Grand Ole Opry Debut Was Cut Short Because of Dolly Parton
The Voice Coach certainly wasn't mad about sharing a surprise billing with the "Jolene" singer.
Don't you hate it when you're trying to make your debut as a music legend and you get interrupted by another music legend unexpectedly showing up?
Back in 1977, country icon and future The Voice Coach Reba McEntire was preparing to sing at the Grand Ole Opry for her very first time when she was given some unfortunate news — or very fortunate news, if you've got a perspective as sunny as McEntire's. The Happy's Place star shared the story on Late Night With Seth Meyers in 2022.
"I got inside and got my little outfit on, and they came up to me and said, 'Reba, we're gonna have to take one of your songs tonight,'" she explained. "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.'"
McEntire's reply truly encapsulates her enthusiastic and humble spirit: "I said, 'Shoot, she can have both of 'em!'"
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Dolly Parton showed up the night of Reba McEntire's first Opry performance
McEntire nearly missed getting to sing at all that night, as she and her family were initially turned away at the door.
"Mom and Daddy and my sister Alice drove 650, 700 miles from Oklahoma to be with me for my debut at the Grand Ole Opry," she told 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.'"
"My heart stopped, and Daddy said, 'Well, feller, what do you think we ought to do?' And he said, 'Well, I suggest you go home,'" McEntire recalled.
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Instead of going home, the family drove "across the interstate to the Get-n-Go" while McEntire called her agent. Thankfully, he issue was soon fixed, and the McEntire got to sing that night — minus one song.
Reba McEntire will guide new talent when she returns to The Voice for Season 28
By 1977, Parton was releasing her 19th album and was in her pop-country crossover era with "Here You Come Again." McEntire had only had a recording contract for a couple of years, and it would take a few more for her to career to really take off. She released her first number one country single "Can't Even Get the Blues" in 1982, and really broke through with her album "My Kind of Country" in 1984.
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In the years since, Parton and McEntire have become "dear friends" and even recorded a duet together in 2021 that is simply stunning. Parton has appeared on The Voice a few times over the years as a guest mentor, but never at the same time as McEntire, who was a Coach for Season 24, 25, and 26.
McEntire will be returning to The Voice for Season 28.
