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Did You Know? Reba Declined What Could Have Been a Hit Song for Her

by
  • Arden is a Senior Country Music Journalist for Country Thang Daily, specializing in classic hits and contemporary chart-toppers.
  • Prior to joining Country Thang Daily, Arden wrote for Billboard and People magazine, covering country music legends and emerging artists.
  • Arden holds a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from the University of Tennessee, with a minor in Music Studies.

Reba McEntire is arguably one of the most successful female country artists since the ‘80s and ‘90s. With the commercial success that Reba had in the ‘80s, it was nearly impossible for her to attract different offers from some of the greatest people in the industry back then.

Yet even with all those offers coming in bunches, Reba made sure that she selected the tunes that fit her style. Yes, Reba had to deny several offers and it even included one of George Strait’s early number 1 hit. Some of the mega Reba fans today might even be surprised about such a fact. But before revealing the song, try to make some guesses. Here are some clues:

  1. The song was originally written a decade ago by Sanger Shafer and Darlene Shafer before Strait picked it up.
  2. It was a mid-tempo traditionally country swinger song.
  3. It topped the charts in 1984 and gave Strait his 6th number one hit.
  4. Moe Bandy and Keith Whitley also recorded their own versions. Unfortunately, they got shelves for nearly 20 years.

Have you guessed it yet? No need to go surf it up on Google because we won’t further put you in suspense.

Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind

Back then, “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind” was a sleeping number-one hit. A decade passed and Strait stepped in finally releasing his version of the song. However, it was not just Strait who recorded the song. Whitley also recorded the song in the same year Strait did. Unfortunately, Whitley’s version was placed on hold by his producer because he did not want a song that would mention Texas in Whitley’s album.

Another artist that turned the song down was Reba McEntire for the reason that it somehow referenced beer. Fortunately, the King of Country took the chance and named his fourth studio album with the same title of the song, “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?

When asked if she has any regrets about taking a pass on “Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind?” Reba confidently said that she has none. Her decision was still the best thing for her and the song was not just for her.

Well, we could assume that Reba has nothing to hold back from that decision as she and George Strait would take turns on top of the country charts as they produced hit after hits for themselves.

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