McEntire, highlighted by performances by Kelly Clarkson, Dolly Parton, and other country artists. It was a night of honoring the Queen of Country Music as only McEntire’s peers could.
The show’s highlight was an unforgettable rendition of McEntire’s “How Blue” by Parton herself — followed by an impromptu duet between the two icons.
Parton’s performance of “How Blue” was impressive on its own. The country music pioneer had the entire crowd clapping along with her silky-smooth vocals singing McEntire’s familiar lyrics. And, of course, nobody was more honored than McEntire herself. The camera kept catching her smiling ear-to-ear.
“Oh, I wasn’t that good!” Parton exclaimed to the crowd in response to their applause after she finished. “Nobody can sing it like Reba!”
As great as Parton’s performance was, she topped it by bringing McEntire up on stage to do a quick duet of the song’s chorus — and McEntire didn’t disappoint. For a few magical seconds, the two icons gave fans one of the most wholesome moments in music history.
Both women sang flawlessly. For McEntire, it was a very special moment because she idolized Parton growing up, and sharing the stage with her was a dream come true.
“I grew up listening to Dolly Parton, when she had her very first album, My Blue Ridge Mountain Boy,” she revealed to Newsweek in a 2023 interview. “I love that album because she wrote songs and told a story. I like a song that tells a story. Dolly and I, we just love, we’re not here to judge or to preach. We love what we get to do.”
Released as the lead single from McEntire’s 1984 album, My Kind of Country, “How Blue” helped propel McEntire even further into superstardom. The song’s success led to her winning a CMA Award for Female Vocalist of the Year in 1985.
The song topped Billboard’s U.S. Hot Country Songs chart, settling into the number-one position on January 19, 1985. “How Blue” is one of 24 number-one country hits that McEntire has under her belt! The track was considered a departure from McEntire’s usual sound as it incorporated elements of country-roots music, such as steel guitars and fiddles, which were not used in McEntire’s previous singles.
