Reba McEntire Wants to ‘Give a Nudge’ to Country Music With New Album

Reba McEntire’s upcoming new album, Stronger Than the Truth, is out this Friday, April 5. The record is pure country, which McEntire hopes will influence other artists to do the same.

“Well, I was hoping that if country music wasn’t planning on heading back to more traditional country, maybe this might give it a little nudge,” McEntire explained. “Because I definitely sure would like to have the old traditional country music back, but with a new flavor that the younger generation of country music artists can put to it … add their touch.”

The 64-year-old intentionally chose songs for Stronger Than the Truth that reminded her of childhood, growing up in Oklahoma and singing with her siblings.

“My goal for this album was to record a stone cold country album. It is the most country album I have ever recorded. It reminds me of My Kind of Country album,” McEntire said of her 1984 record. “I’d gone to Jimmy Bowen and I said, ‘I want to record MY kind of country,’ And he said, ‘Well what’s that?’ I said, ‘The songs I grew up with, like Merle Haggard, Ray Price, Mel Tillis.’ He said, ‘Well go find the songs yourself,’ and that’s what I did with this album.

“I went to look for songs that you can dance to, that are reminiscent of the songs that Pake and Suzy and I did when we were the Singin’ McEntires,” she continued. “Cause that’s where we played all the time, was rodeo dances, dance halls. You had to have a song that people could dance to, and that’s what’s on this album.”

Stronger Than the Truth includes songs like “Tammy Wynette Kind of Pain” and “No U in Oklahoma,” as well as her current single, “Freedom.” While there are many different emotions and styles on her latest record, what unites them all is the singer’s insistence on making the project as country as possible.

“I love this kind of music. I miss it, and I’ve always wanted to sing Western Swing,” McEntire maintained. “Red Stegall is one of my nearest and dearest friends and I love his music. I love to dance to that kind of music. I did ‘Invitation to the Blues” on my very first album. Don’t have very many of those kind of songs. So, to have dance songs, great hit your heart type songs, that’s just the kind of album I wanted to do. And I’m so grateful the record label said, ‘You bet, go for it.’”

Stronger Than the Truth also became a subtle response to the kind of music McEntire is ready to leave the country music genre.

“This ‘bro’ thing has lasted a lot longer than I thought it would,” McEntire told the Washington Post. “I’m ready for it to change.”

Order Stronger Than the Truth at Reba.com.

Photo Credit: Getty images/Jim Spellman