Reba McEntire’s love of music was almost destroyed by grief, but she was able to reignite it.

The performer, known as the Queen of Country, recently opened out about how she contemplated giving up music

after her mother Jacqueline passed away from cancer in March 2020 in a recent interview on Today with Hoda & Jenna.

After Jacqueline’s passing, McEntire, then 68, recalled a time when she and her sister Susie were

sorting through their parents’ stuff. She considered her future as a singer during this time of reflection.

I was looking through images, she recalled. I simply don’t think I’m going to do this anymore, I declared. ‘What?’ she exclaimed.

‘I said, ‘Sing,’’ she remarked. ‘I proclaimed, ‘I always did it for Mama.’’ I did. She said, ‘Oh, you’ll get it back.’

She and her siblings Susie, Alice, and Pake studied singing with Jacqueline before the ‘Fancy’ performer’s career took off in the 1970s,

and it was this experience that sparked Reba’s enthusiasm for music. She spoke fondly of her mother’s support for her and her siblings,

remarking, ‘She was incredibly encouraging for all of us kids, whatever we wanted to do. She imparted harmony to us.

The McEntire siblings became known as ‘the singing McEntires’ throughout their high school years as a result of Jacqueline’s readiness to provide feedback, especially if they missed a note.

‘Mama would come in with her spatula after she was frying potatoes,’ McEntire recounted, imitating her mother’s pointing motion with the implement.

‘Anytime anybody needed an opinion of who’s off — Susie’s on my part, I’m on Susie’s part.’ ‘OK, Reba, you’re on Susie’s part,’ she would remark.

Sing it once more. She would respond, ‘Oh, that’s perfect,’ and then go back inside to continue frying potatoes after we sang it.

This week, the ‘Reba’ star published a lifestyle book called ‘Not That Fancy,’ which is jam-packed with recipes and anecdotes from her personal and professional life.

She also released a new album with the same name that included acoustic versions of her songs as well as a brand-new song called ‘Seven Minutes in Heaven.’

McEntire muses in the beautiful song, which was penned by Olivia Rudeen and Matt Wynn, about what it would be like to have seven minutes with a

deceased loved one in heaven. She immediately associated it with her mother Jacqueline when she first heard it.

‘I have to sing it when you find a song that really hits your heart and makes you cry. The Grammy winner stated,

‘I have to record it, and that’s what you’re always seeking for: a song that hits your heart. So that when I sing it, maybe it will also touch your heart.

Given how difficult it is for anyone to deal with grief, Reba McEntire’s determination to keep performing is laudable.

If you enjoyed reading about Reba McEntire, you might like this story on her recent ‘The Voice’ debut as a coach!