Reba McEntire has spent 50 years making music. There is no one with as strong of a work ethic as McEntire, who also has one of the best and most unique voices in country music. While she is most certainly one of a kind in country music, there are a few artists who would be a worthy add to a McEntire playlist. We picked four of our favorites.
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1. Dolly Parton
Dolly Parton was around long before McEntire. In fact, when McEntire made her Grand Ole Opry debut in 1977, she had to cut her scheduled performance down to one song, due to a surprise appearance by Parton. Fortunately, McEntire happily obliged, and the two went on to become good friends.
It's likely Parton's influence that encouraged McEntire to release songs about her own life, something Parton has done well for her entire career, including with her recent single, "If You Hadn't Been There." Parton released the song shortly after her husband, Carl Dean, passed away.
2. Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood has made no secret of the fact that she looks up to McEntire, a lot. Underwood not only draws musical inspiration from McEntire, but business inspiration, both from McEntire and Parton.
"Sharing a legacy of putting on proper shows that, like Dolly's and Reba's, are extra — meaning filled with more of the glitz, glamour, extravagant wardrobe and staging that's a part of our lives already — and tell a full, emotion and vibe-driven story with a beginning, middle and end," Underwood tells The Tennessean. "I'm not just showing up and singing. Instead, I'm immersing the audience in song."
3. Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert is a big, big fan of McEntire, which is why she also looks to McEntire as one of her musical heroes. Lambert invited McEntire to join her for an unforgettable performance at Stagecoach last year, creating a moment neither Lambert nor her fans will ever forget.
"I was nervous to ask her," Lambert admits to Country Living. "I mean, obviously, because she's one of my heroes, but she is a friend, and Reba is a number one class act. She does everything so professionally and she's super fun to be around, but you know it's a big favor to ask to come all the way to California to sing a couple of songs. So, I asked her and she was like 'Heck yeah, I'll do it.'"
4. Lainey Wilson
Ever since Lainey Wilson's meteoric rise in country music, fans have been saying she's like Reba McEntire, and not just as artists. Both McEntire and Wilson have a work ethic that is unmatched, which undoubtedly contributes to both of their success. Also like McEntire, Wilson is unafraid to release the music she wants to make, even if - or perhaps because - it doesn't sound like anything else at country radio.
Fittingly, it was also McEntire who invited Wilson to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry last year.
