ShareThisBy RONNA RUBIN
Sunday, November 19, 2006
You don't have to look far to find fans of superstar Barbara Mandrell. Although she officially retired from the music business 10 years ago at the age of 48, she can still count many of today's top stars as fans.
"To me, she is the epitome of an entertainer," says Kenny Chesney. "Since I've gotten to know her and actually become friends with her, I've really been able to appreciate what she has done and what she has meant to the music world."
Chesney and fellow stars _ including Reba McEntire, Sara Evans, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Leann Rimes and Willie Nelson _ pay tribute to Mandrell on "She Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool," a collection of some of the singer's biggest hits sung by the artists who love her.
To mark the occasion, Mandrell sat down with Great American Country's Lorianne Crook to talk about this very special tribute. "Barbara Mandrell: Best of the Best" premieres Monday, Oct. 16, at 9 p.m. (EDT/PDT) on GAC.
An adept multi-instrumentalist, Mandrell was the first female to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year award two years in a row and she candidly tells Crook that she wanted that historic double win.
"Of course I wanted it ... I was like 'Oh please, Lord; I've worked so hard.' But I also knew it had never been done," she says. "I would always strive to work hard physically and savor the expressions of the people I could see (in the audience) so that I could see what really appealed to them and be as versatile as I could."
In addition to more than 50 hits that made the Top 40 and millions of albums sold, Mandrell launched a very successful weekly NBC variety show, "Barbara Mandrell and The Mandrell Sisters," in l980, a new venture that found her singing, dancing and doing comedy skits with sisters Louise and Irlene.
"Our parents always made us feel like there was nothing we couldn't do. They instilled in us such confidence which is why I guess I've always had the guts to jump into something with both feet."
In addition to her CMA nods, the Texas-born singer also took the People's Choice prize in 1982, besting fellow nominees Barbra Streisand and Carol Burnett. "Jimmy Stewart presented that award," Mandrell recalls. "All I could think of was that he's standing right there and he said my name!"
Mandrell was present throughout the making of the tribute album and admits that the project was bigger than anything she could have dreamed up.
"My heart was palpitating and it was a whole grand experience that I had never thought of before. Every single artist gave it their all and I am so proud and so excited that they did this out of their love."
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This week's GACtv.com Country Q & A come from Misty in Laurel, Miss.:
Q: Is that Heather Locklear in Toby Keith's new video?
A: Yes, that is Heather Locklear. It turns out that Heather is a good friend of Toby Keith's hairstylist, Susie Carlson. And at some point Susie suggested Toby and Heather do a video. It took a while for the right song to appear and that one turned out to be "Crash Here Tonight."
(Ronna Rubin, a 21-year veteran of the music industry, can be contacted at ronna(at)gacmusicbeat.com. Log on to GACtv.com for more information about your favorite artists.)
