Reba (album)

Reba is the fourteenth studio album by American country music singer Reba McEntire. McEntire collaborated once again with former rockabilly artist and legendary music producer Jimmy Bowen, and the album was released on April 25, 1988. Gone were the honky tonk stable steel guitars and fiddles of My Kind of Country and Have I Got a Deal for You, to be replaced by a highly produced and orchestrated production. The album recalls to mind the music on the hit parade of the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Nashville and country-soul crossover sounds of the 1960s are also represented. Created before For My Broken Heart and It's Your Call, this was one of the first of McEntire's albums to have a conceptual feeling. This was created by song choice and the use of similar instrumentation and vocal arrangement throughout the album. Reba was a success.

The album was her third #1 country album, and two of its tracks, "I Know How He Feels" and "New Fool at an Old Game," reached No. 1 on the Billboard country singles charts.

A remake of an old jazz vocal standard made famous by Ella Fitzgerald, "Sunday Kind of Love" reached the #5 spot. Also covered was "Respect," a song made famous by Aretha Franklin.

The album debuted at #20 for the week of May 21, 1988, on the Country Albums chart, and peaked at #1 for the week of June 11, 1988. The album stayed at #1 for 6 consecutive weeks.

Three songs from the album, "Do Right By Me", "Wish I Were Only Lonely" and "New Fool At An Old Game", were previously recorded by Michelle Wright on her 1988 album, Do Right By Me.

Personnel

 * Reba McEntire – lead vocals
 * John Barlow Jarvis – acoustic piano, Yamaha DX7
 * Mike Lawler – synthesizers
 * Pat Flynn – acoustic guitar, mandolin, bouzouki
 * Pam Rose – acoustic guitar, backing vocals
 * Dann Huff – electric guitars
 * Wayne Nelson – bass guitar
 * Russ Kunkel – drums, percussion
 * Kirk "Jelly Roll" Johnson – harmonica
 * Yvonne Hodges – backing vocals
 * Suzy Hoskins – backing vocals
 * Mary Ann Kennedy – backing vocals

Production

 * Jimmy Bowen – producer
 * Reba McEntire – producer
 * Ron Treat – recording engineer
 * Mark J. Coddington – second engineer
 * Marty Williams – second engineer
 * Bob Bullock – overdub recording
 * Tim Kish – overdub recording
 * Willie Pevear – overdub recording
 * John Guess – mixing
 * Glenn Meadows – mastering
 * Milan Bogdan – digital editing
 * Simon Levy – art direction
 * Katherine DeVault – design
 * Jim McGuire – photography


 * Studios
 * Recorded at Emerald Sound Studios and Sound Stage Studios (Nashville, Tennessee).
 * Mixed and Mastered at Masterfonics (Nashville, Tennessee).