Reba McEntire Details ‘Worst Thing to Ever Happen in My Life’
By Movieguide® Contributor
On Sunday Reba McEntire gave a heartfelt tribute to her band members, whom she lost in a fatal plane crash in 1991.
“Always in our minds, thoughts, and prayers no matter how many years have passed,” she wrote on her Instagram March 16, the anniversary of her friends’ deaths. “Love and miss you all.”
That day, her eight-member band were all on a flight to Indiana when it crashed in Otay Mountain, California.
“The tip of the wing of the airplane hit a rock on the side of Otay Mountain, and it killed everyone on the plane,” McEntire told Oprah Winfrey in 2012. “When we were notified, Narvel (McEntire’s then-husband and manager) went and met with our pilot, and he told us what had happened.”
“And Narvel came back to the hotel room where I was — it was 2 or 3 o’clock in the morning — and he said one of the planes had crashed, and I said, ‘Are they okay?’ He said, ‘I don’t think so.’ I said, ‘But you’re not sure?’ He said, ‘I don’t think so,’” she recalled.
It’s been 34 years now, but recalling the tragedy is still painful for the singer.
RELATED: REBA ACTOR REUNITES WITH CO-STARS ON SCREEN AFTER STROKE
“Narvel was going room to room with a phone and calling …” McEntire said through tears. “I’m sorry — it’s been 20 years, but it’s just like — I don’t guess it ever quits hurting. but I can see that room. I can see Narvel walking back and forth.”
“It was the worst thing to ever happen in my life. I just can’t imagine how my band and pilot’s family feel. I lost friends,” she said.
“They lost family members,” she continued. “Don’t go a day without telling people you love them.”
McEntire quit her tour, even though Vince Gill and Dolly Parton offered to let her use their bands for the remainder of the tour. She did, though, just nine days later, play at the Academy Awards as scheduled, with Parton’s bandleader, Gary Smith.
While grieving, McEntire made the 10-track album For My Broken Heart, which she dedicated to her band.
McEntire said her loss was “channeled into this album with every song, every lyric.”
Her bass player, Leland Skylar, once asked her while working on the album, “Reba, are we gonna do any happy songs?” She replied, “Leland, not on this one.” He responded, “I understand.”
READ NEXT: REBA MCENTIRE’S HAPPY’S PLACE GETS SOME EXCITING NEWS
- Content: +2Share:
- Content: +4