Reba McEntire Nearly Quit Singing After Her Mom Died

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Reba McEntire Thought About Quitting Her Career After Her Mother Passed Away

Reba McEntire lost her mother in 2020. Jacqueline McEntire was 92 years old when she died on March 14, 2020 following a battle with cancer:

“Our Mother, Jacqueline McEntire, made that wonderful cross over into Heaven today,” Reba said when she shared the news on social media. “She had a wonderful, full, healthy life and was absolutely ready to go. The cancer might think it won the battle but we’re giving God all the credit on selecting the time for her to go home to Him. She was ready to see our Daddy, her mama and daddy and all her family and friends.”

 

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Jacqueline’s death deeply affected Reba. So much, in fact, that she nearly considered quitting her career.

Reba Says She “Didn’t Want To Sing” After Her Mom Died

During a conversation with TODAY, Reba opened up about her feelings in the immediate aftermath of her mom’s death. She recalled speaking to her sister Susie, and telling her how she lost all love for music.

“Oh I didn’t want to [sing],” she said. “I told my little sister Susie when we were working at the house, I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to sing anymore.’ She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I always sang for Mama.'”

Jacqueline inspired all of her children to love music, and taught them to sing. She would take them to their performances, and “was [their] biggest cheerleader.” Jacqueline dreamed of being a singer herself, so watching her children live that dream was extremely fulfilling.

“She said, ‘Reba, I will be living my dreams through you.’ So golly, why wouldn’t you want to go sing?” Reba said.

Reba Honors Her Mama In Her Music, Including Her New Song “Seven Minutes In Heaven”

But Reba continued singing, and now she honors her mama with her music. She recorded a new song, titled “Seven Minutes In Heaven,” for her Not That Fancy album.

The song was co-written by Matt Wynn and Olivia Rudeen. In it, Reba sings about the special person she’d devote her time to if she only had seven minutes to spend in heaven.

Reba also released an emotional music video to accompany the song. An actor stands in to portray her beloved mother…the one person Reba would spend “Seven Minutes In Heaven” with if she had the chance.

The video is hard to get through, because Reba is teary-eyed for most of the time. It’s a beautiful song and video, and a beautiful tribute to her mama.

Watch Reba’s video for “Seven Minutes In Heaven” below. We’ve also included a video of its co-writer Matt Wynn performing the song for Country Rebel a few years ago.