Reba McEntire may now sport timeless mid-length waves framed by her signature full bangs, but there was a time when she fully embraced the hair trends of the era. During Monday’s episode of the TODAY Show, a throwback photograph of the country star was unearthed – and her hair looks wildly different.
The photograph dates back to 1976 when a young Reba McEntire posed for a portrait session in Nashville, Tennessee. The image shows the singer posing in front of a purple backdrop, wearing a flowing pink dress adorned with intricate floral detailing. Reba’s hair is styled in tight curls that graze her shoulders, parted neatly down the center.
The throwback look is world’s apart from Reba’s style agenda today, which blends sleek and modern tailoring with an elegant haircut. During her appearance on TODAY, Reba sported a cream-colored blazer that was layered over a navy turtle neck jumper. The outfit was accessorised with baby-blue jewel drop earrings while Reba’s makeup was left natural and radiant.
Reba has previously opened up about her past beauty choices. “In the early ’80s, I got a perm,” she told Glamour. “I have natural curly hair. And so when my hair would be a little past my shoulders with a perm, it was just super tight because if you add a perm to natural curly hair, it looks angry. And it did.”
The singer then opted for a daring chop once the 90s hit. “I loved it. It was in ’96 or ’97 when I cut my hair off, and it was freeing. But you know what? I had to talk to my management and my stylist who did my hair, because it took almost a year for me to talk them into letting me cut my hair. They told me my hair was my image. ‘You got your big hair all jacked up to Jesus. You can’t cut your hair off.’ And I said, ‘Well, it’ll give you something else to talk about.’ And they said, ‘Oh, OK. That’s an idea.’ So we did,” she explained.
The natural redhead has had over 100 singles make it onto the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Her first single debuted in 1976, and she fought against her label at the time, who wanted her to be more pop-focused. “I said, ‘I would really like things more country. I don’t want orchestra and violins. I want a steel guitar and a fiddle.’ That started me having more control of the songs that I recorded,” she told PBS.
“I did find my own way, but I went back to my teachers – Dolly [Parton], Loretta [Lynn], Tammy [Wynette] – and saw what they did to pave the way for women in country music. And I took that wisdom and added it to what I wanted to do.”
