Marching into the country music scene in 1975, Reba McEntire can easily say her career of nearly five decades has been a fruitful one. On March 29th, McEntire marks her 69th birthday, but it’s not just her titanic discography she’s celebrating but, first and foremost, her family that she treasures above all.
McEntire has twice been married, first to Charlie Battles from ’76 to ’87, and then to Narvel Blackstock from ’89 to 2015. These might not have been meant to last, but family life has influenced McEntire’s work throughout her career, right to today when she’s with her current boyfriend Rex Linn, who has encouraged some of McEntire’s recent successes. Earlier this month, before celebrating her own 69th birthday, McEntire also paid tribute to her other personal success, son Shelby Blackstock, who McEntire calls a bigger blessing than any other award, record sale, or concert venue in her entire life.
The highs and lows of family life influenced Reba McEntire throughout her whole career
McEntire was around 21 when she married steer wrestling champion and rancher Charlie Battles, who was 10 years her senior. Battles had two sons of his own from a previous relationship and he and Reba lived together on a ranch in Oklahoma. When McEntire divorced him in 1987, it was to further pursue her music career. Those 11 years together may have ended in a split but they still impacted McEntire.
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That same year, amidst unprecedented heights in her career, McEntire released her thirteenth studio album called The Last One to Know, and number three on the Billboard country albums chart. The success of this very personal venture was rooted in history, and reviewer Tom Roland immediately clocked the influence of McEntire’s recent divorce on the album’s content.
McEntire’s marriage to her manager and former steel guitar player Narvel Blackstock saw personal and professional lives mingle even more tightly – and it saw the expansion of her family to include stepchildren Chassidy, Shawna, and Brandon, as well as the birth of her son Shelby in February 1990.
Reba McEntire celebrates her 69th birthday by paying tribute to her family
McEntire celebrates her 69th birthday on March 26, but first, she has plenty to feel grateful for as Shelby turns 34. In fact, the two looked like twins in her tribute post to him, showing mother and son looking thoughtfully out onto a golden horizon.
“I sure feel a lot better today than I did 34 years ago,” McEntire captioned the post. “From the first second I found out I was pregnant, up to today, this child is one of the biggest blessings of my life. Thank you, God for letting me experience being a mama. I love you, Shelby, with all my heart mind and soul.”
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McEntire credits Shelby with making her not as much of a “very self-centered person,” one whom she could focus her energy on loving and protecting while rejecting the relentless spotlight.
The two first met in 1991 on the set of The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw before reconnecting almost 30 years later when McEntire played June on Young Sheldon, opposite Linn’s recurring role as the school principal. It was Linn who helped convince McEntire to sing the National Anthem at the 2024 Super Bowl – and now her performance is lauded as one of the best in the game and song’s history!
A very happy 69th birthday to the most remarkable Reba McEntire!
