“Cancelled” before “cancelling” was a thing, the CCM architect is reclaiming her place in the narrative
by Tim Dillinger
“Reba was such a trendsetter,” remembers Ron Fairchild, a session musician and longtime keyboardist for the Oak Ridge Boys. “There was nobody like her. Those records had guts!” He remembers the sessions for her groundbreaking 1980 album, Confessions, vividly. “We would play those tracks without a guide vocal and go back to Soundstage Studios just to hear Reba sing. She was a quiet woman in those days, but when her voice came through those monitors, we’d just say ‘Holy crap!’ Those records made a mark. There are people today who are pretenders to a throne she helped build.”