OCR Text |
Show the last one to know,because I think that’s his way of keepin’ me down-to-earth and not gettin’ too cocky. He usually don’t tell me what's ahead.” BABY TALK Herfirst cinematic venture, in the 1990 horror- Returns on NBC, she’s a hooker named Burgundy. “He has really changed me,” she says, her green eyes sparkling. “Just to see how vulnerable children are, how accessible they are, how open they are and how quickly they learn. If only I could learn so quickly, I'd be a genius. children ofprostitutes. It was a lot of fun, but I must less selfish. I think that’s the biggest change. Before I became a mother, it was all Reba, Reba, Reba. What can Reba do now? And what can Reba do for Reba as an entertainer? And what can Reba do for Reba’s career? Now,I think of my family. It really does open your eyes to have kids. Besides, you have no more time for yourself.” She laughs with real glee. And has that tempered the Reba ambition? She raises one eyebrow before replying. “Well. Yeah. Because now I’m wondering: ‘In five years, am I gonna be slowed down enough to go to the T-ball games and be in PTA andtake Shelby to little things that he wants to do?’ Plus, we’ve got these little colts and fillies now, and I’m like, ‘OK, by the time Shelby gets to be 4, will Fancy be big enough for Shelbyto ride, or will she be ornery, or will wesell her?’ We’re namin’ ’em after the songs: Fancy Ray Baker, Rumor Has It, Somebody Should Leave, New England. We’re happy outthere in Gallatin now. We’ve got a Wal-Mart and a McDonald’s. Everything you need!” When Shelby was born, Reba said she wanted an- other child in 15 months. That obviously hasn’t come to pass — and nowshe’s notso sure. “Things have been just too busy. Maybe next year. Yeah, I wanted to get pregnant again this June, but I’m booked till next year, so at least I can try it next year. If it’s not next year,it'll probably betoolate.” THE ALLURE OF HOLLYWOOD Acting is something else McEntire wants but doesn’t know if she can fit in soon. She will be very careful about her acting projects, she says, especially after studying Dolly Parton, who ventured into pop music and a movielike Rhinestone, a 1984 dog with a singing Sylvester Stallone. “Well, that movie insulted her fans. It was insulting. Listen, I watch everybody.It’s not that I do what they do; I learn from their mistakes. That’s whereI learn. I’m not looking to copy IN REBA’S HEART... Reba McEntire’s new album, in stores this Tuesday, is called For My Broken Heart, andit addresses the deaths of several band members in a plane crash just six months ago. comedyflick Tremors, was received pretty well. In Noverber’s two-night The Luck ofthe Draw: The Gambler One unforeseen turn of events: the vast effect that Shelby Steven McEntire Blackstock, born Feb. 23, 1990, would have on her. “He’s made me much more patient; he’s made me THE NEW ALBUM anybody, and I’m not wanting to be a movie star because Dolly’s a movie star. My real priority is touring, because I know I can do thatfairly well. I’m confidentofthat. But I’m a greenhorn at acting.” “t's a sad album,” she says, looking away “Wrong!”she says, her voice raised in mock anger. “Listen. I’m a madam. How degrading to call me a ‘hooker’! I’m a madam whois taking care of the at nothing in particular. “This is 10 sad songs. RumorHasIt (her current album) wasjust the 10 best songs | could find, which is usually the way | go about it. But | wanted this to be a trib- say it’s the hardest workI’ve ever donein mylife.” And does she envision more acting? “Oh, sure,” she says, striking a pose suitable for a movie poster. “I started getting a lot ofscripts after I sang on the Oscars. It’s just a matter of finding the time. It’s so different from the music business. I’m so used to knowing exactly where I’m going to be on every day at what time and what I’m gonna do. But with movies, if one thing goesoff,it throws everything off schedule.” ute album, and it couldn't be a tribute album if it was a happy, up-tempo album. And | just don’t feel like singing that way right now, anyway. The pain is not... it’s not through yet. The wound’s not closed, and | think people would be shocked if | came out with anything other than a sad album.” “‘We threw away songs that would have been hits,"’ says album co-producer Tony Brown. ‘They didn’t match the mood she’s in. We can't just for the sake of business throw out an album full of a few ditties and then a few that show herfeelings.” JET-SET LIFE She listened to roughly 1,000 Her own schedule, McEntire songs. Her choices are uniformly sad. says, she usually knows by “They deal with situations that are heart. So I ask her. She is dekind of unpleasant,” she says, smiling lighted to test her memory. Slew on the band’s wryly. “One of the songs is /s There Life Out There?, about a woman who mar“T got through on a Thursried too early and wonders what she’s day with The Gambler; ran over all the given up, what she'll miss. One songis songs on Friday; went in at noon on Saturday and dedicated to the band and Jim (Hammon, road recorded; recorded Saturday, Sunday and Monday manager) and the two pilots; | do the old song and Tuesday, and on Wednesday I let MCAlisten to The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. it. Thursday, I went on tour and then cameright “And there’s a nursing home song called back here and did vocal combines on Monday and All Dressed Up.It’s about a woman wholives Tuesday. Finishedlast night. at the nursing home, and sne gets dressed up “] had part of today off; you’re here now; I work every Sunday and waits for her family to come tomorrow night, have Friday off with Shelby, then I see her. They neverdo. It's a real tear-jerker. work Austin on Saturday, Dallas on Sunday, fly to “So. That's the kind of songs that appealed L.A. and do press for the movie around noon, and to me, and | hope it’s a kind of healing.” then jumpontheplaneandfly to Louisville fora private show Monday night. I have Tuesday off, then Wednesday I’m doin’ an all-day photo shoot. Lake ... AND THE ALBUM IN HER MIND Tahoe is Thursday, where I’m doin’ a promotion for the record, then I work San Diego, Denver, somewhere in Minnesota, and that’s as far as I can think.” McEntire wentbackto flying right after the crash because she couldn’t continue her career and family life without doing so. And she has bought another plane — identical to the one that crashed. “After the accident, we looked at all kinds of planes and came back to the Hawker. At first, just saying the name re- minded me every time. But now it’s kinda like, ‘Well, we put them on it and we always knew there are slim chances. ...” Shefalls silent for a bit. “Honest to God, before the crash, I thought we were invinci- ble. Now, though, now you know you're so touchable, so vulnerable.” 0 q—and the last unless her : he’ll : dulelightens sc Son Shelby is one reason that McEntire is planning a hip, modern gospel album. “I'm already lookin’ for songs. | want to touch people with gospel, and, basically, the ones | really want to touch are the 5- to 19-year-olds. Kids today are so — well, kids have always been easily swayed, and they're bein’ attacked so hard now by nitwits and crazy people. If | could touch them with a gospel album, it would be worthwhile. “Amazing Grace is a pretty song, but it doesn’t touch my soul. When | was a kid goin’ to church (in Oklahoma) and we sang Just a Closer Walk With Thee,|“thee” didn’t aknow what horse?’ ” ‘thee’ meant. ‘Is The ex-rodeo rider laughs. “| want to do something modem.” — C.F. USA WEEKEND© September 27-29, 1991. 5 |