Country music star Reba McEntire has been through terrible things that have changed her life and singing. In 1991, her tour manager and seven beloved band members died in a terrible plane crash.
Reba and her team were getting ready to leave for Fort Wayne, Indiana, after an exciting show in San Diego on March 16, 1991. But fate had other plans. Reba, Narvel Blackstock, who was her husband at the time, and dresser Sandi Spika stayed the night in San Diego while the band and tour manager got on the doomed flight.
When the plane crashed into Otay Mountain, tragedy struck and all on board were killed. In 2012, Reba told Oprah Winfrey how upset she was and how Narvel broke her heart by telling her the news.
Reba got comfort from her friends Vince Gill and Dolly Parton, who offered to finish the tour with their bands. Instead, Reba used her sadness to make the moving album “For My Broken Heart,” which was a tribute to her friends who had died.
The album was a huge hit, selling four million copies and being number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart.
Reba remembers her friends who died every year on the date of the tragedy by posting touching tributes on social media.
In 2016, she went back to San Diego for the 25th anniversary and thought about how she was still healing. Reba sent a powerful message:
“Today marks 25 years since the crash that killed… I went back to San Diego and flew to the crash site in a helicopter.
Reba’s love and strength continue to inspire people all over the world. Her impact shows how powerful music and memories can be over time.
Reba makes sure that the memories of her band members live on through her music and honors, which touch the hearts of many fans. Love, loss, and strength can change people, and her story is a lesson of that.
