For My Broken Heart, the 17th studio album released by country music icon Reba McEntire, didn’t get its name at random. It was the first album that the “Fancy” singer recorded following the March 16, 1991 plane crash that killed eight members of her band and crew. And it would become one of the best-selling albums of her career, yielding two number-one singles in the title track and “Is There Life Out There”. It also spawned McEntire’s now-classic cover of the 1972 Bobby Russell-penned murder ballad “The Night The Lights Went Out in Georgia”. That song peaked at number 12.
On this day (July 20) in 1992, For My Broken Heart marked a career first for McEntire when it received a double-Platinum certification from the RIAA, having sold 2 million copies.
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Reba McEntire Honored Her Fallen Friends “With Every Lyric”
Reflecting on From My Broken Heart for its 30th anniversary in 2021, Reba McEntire said that recording the album played a major role in her own healing process.
“The loss of my band and tour manager got channeled into this album with every song, every lyric,” she said. “Leland Sklar was the bass player on that session, and he came in after about the fourth song that we recorded. And he said, ‘Reba, are we going to do any happy songs?’
“And I looked up and I said, ‘Leland, not on this one,’” she continued. “He said, ‘I understand.’”
In addition to helping alleviate McEntire’s immeasurable grief, For My Broken Heart struck a chord with country music listeners. The record spent 20 consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 200’s Top 10—her highest-charting entry at the time.
“I think the reason this album connected with so many people is because [of] its relatable songs,” McEntire said. “It touches your heart and it connects to you the way you need it to. Great songs like that always do. The way I hear it and it relates to me will be totally different than the way you relate to it, but they’re wonderful songs and they’re timeless.”
What Happened to Reba’s Band Members?
Following a show in San Diego, Reba McEntire’s band boarded a jet to take them to the next gig in Indiana.
The “I’m a Survivor” singer stayed overnight in San Diego with then-husband Narvel Blackstock. She planned to join her band and crew the next day.
[RELATED: Reba McEntire Said Kenny Rogers Helped “Save Her Sanity” After 1991 Plane Crash]
Sadly, the plane’s wing struck the side of Otay Mountain in San Diego shortly after takeoff. No one on board survived.
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