How Blue

"How Blue"
"How Blue"
Single by Reba McEntire
from the album My Kind of Country
B-side	"That's What He Said"
Released	September 24, 1984
Recorded	1984
Genre	Country
Length	2:42
Label	MCA
Songwriter(s)	John Moffat
Producer(s)	Harold Shedd
Reba McEntire singles chronology

"How Blue" is a song written by John Moffat, and recorded by American country music artist Reba McEntire. It was released in September 1984 as the first single from the album My Kind of Country. It was her third number one single on the Billboard country music chart and would be the first of a series of number one singles during the 1980s and 1990s.

Background

"How Blue" was recorded at the MCA studio in Nashville, Tennessee in 1984. The song was one of several new tracks released on McEntire's second MCA album, My Kind of Country, which mainly included cover versions of traditional country songs. The song itself was considered a departure from any of McEntire's previously released singles, as it contained a traditional sound, with fiddle and steel guitar in the background.^[1]

Cover versions

Country music singer Dolly Parton covered the song from the television special CMT Giants: Reba

Critical reception

Since its release as a single, "How Blue" has received positive critical reception from critics. Kurt Wolff of the book, Country Music: The Rough Guide called the song, "one of rootsiest songs she has ever recorded."^[2]

Release and chart performance

"How Blue" was released on September 24, 1984 on MCA Nashville Records. The song reached number one on the Billboard Magazine country music chart months before My Kind of Country's release, reaching the top spot in January 1985. The song also peaked at number 6 on the Canadian RPM Country Tracks charts around the same time. The song helped McEntire to win the Country Music Association Awards' "Female Vocalist of the Year" honor and was also regarded as a "new traditionalist" by many music critics, along with country artists, George Strait and Ricky Skaggs.^[3]

Charts

Chart (1984–1985)	Peak position
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[4]	1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	6

References

^ Ruhlmann, William. "My Kind of Country > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
^ Wolff, Kurt. "Ch. 12 - Wild and Blue: Traditionalism Makes a Comeback". In Orla Duane (ed.). Country Music: The Rough Guide. London, England: Rough Guides Ltd.
^ Ruhlmann, William. "Reba McEntire > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-31.
^ "Reba McEntire Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

[mykindofcountry-1] Ruhlmann, William. "My Kind of Country > Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-31.

[roughguide-2] Wolff, Kurt. "Ch. 12 - Wild and Blue: Traditionalism Makes a Comeback". In Orla Duane (ed.). Country Music: The Rough Guide. London, England: Rough Guides Ltd.

[3] Ruhlmann, William. "Reba McEntire > Biography". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-08-31.

[sc_Billboardcountrysongs_Reba_McEntire-4] "Reba McEntire Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

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v t e Reba McEntire singles
Albums Singles Videos
1970s	"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (with Jacky Ward) "Sweet Dreams"
1980s	"(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven" "I Can See Forever in Your Eyes" "I Don't Think Love Ought to Be That Way" "Today All Over Again" "Only You (And You Alone)" "I'm Not That Lonely Yet" "Can't Even Get the Blues" "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving" "Why Do We Want (What We Know We Can't Have)" "There Ain't No Future in This" "Just a Little Love" "He Broke Your Memory Last Night" "How Blue" "Somebody Should Leave" "Have I Got a Deal for You" "Only in My Mind" "Whoever's in New England" "Little Rock" "What Am I Gonna Do About You" "Let the Music Lift You Up" "One Promise Too Late" "The Last One to Know" "Love Will Find Its Way to You" "A Sunday Kind of Love" "I Know How He Feels" "New Fool at an Old Game" "Cathy's Clown" "'Til Love Comes Again" "Little Girl"
1990s	"Walk On" "You Lie" "Rumor Has It" "Fancy" "Fallin' Out of Love" "For My Broken Heart" "Is There Life Out There" "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" "Take It Back" "The Heart Won't Lie" (with Vince Gill) "It's Your Call" "Does He Love You" (with Linda Davis) "They Asked About You" "Why Haven't I Heard from You" "She Thinks His Name Was John" "Till You Love Me" "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" "And Still" "On My Own" "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands" "Starting Over Again" "You Keep Me Hangin' On" "The Fear of Being Alone" "How Was I to Know" "I'd Rather Ride Around with You" "What If It's You" "If You See Him/If You See Her" (with Brooks & Dunn) "Forever Love" "Wrong Night" "One Honest Heart" "What Do You Say"
2000s	"I'll Be" "We're So Good Together" "I'm a Survivor" "Sweet Music Man" "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain" "Somebody" "He Gets That from Me" "My Sister" "You're Gonna Be (Always Loved by Me)" "Love Needs a Holiday" "Because of You" (with Kelly Clarkson) "The Only Promise That Remains" (with Justin Timberlake) "Every Other Weekend" (with Kenny Chesney or Skip Ewing) "Strange" "Consider Me Gone"
2010s	"I Keep On Loving You" "Turn On the Radio" "If I Were a Boy" "When Love Gets a Hold of You" "Somebody's Chelsea" "Going Out Like That" "Until They Don't Love You" "Just Like Them Horses" "Softly and Tenderly" "Back to God" "God and My Girlfriends" "Freedom"
2020s	"Does He Love You" (with Dolly Parton) "I Can't"
Other singles	"Mind Your Own Business" (with Hank Williams Jr.) "Oklahoma Swing" (with Vince Gill) "What If" "Cowgirls Don't Cry" (with Brooks & Dunn) "Forever Country" (with Various artists) "Be a Light" (with Thomas Rhett)