Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood Surprise Reba McEntire at 40th Opry Anniversary [Watch]
Reba McEntire celebrated the 40th anniversary of her Grand Ole Opry debut with a special appearance on the hallowed stage Friday night (Sept. 22), and she had help from some surprise guests. Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood and Vince Gill all turned up to help honor her on the special occasion.
Nashville's Tennessean newspaper reports that Underwood joined McEntire for a duet on "Does He Love You," while Parton unexpectedly wound up onstage, but in a very different way than she did 40 years previously when she inadvertently ended up cutting McEntire's big debut short.
"She had just come in the parking lot and they said, ‘Reba, we’re going to have to take one of your songs (for Dolly),’" McEntire recalls to the Tennessean about her debut. "I said, ‘It’s okay with me. Can I meet her?’ I was thrilled to death."
Instead of cutting her set short, on Friday night Parton helped present McEntire with a three-tier cake to celebrate her big moment. McEntire showed that she's still an excited fan at heart when she shared a picture of herself with Parton to Instagram, writing, "I can’t believe Dolly Parton was here to surprise me."
Underwood, in turn, showed her own inner fangirl when she posted two pictures from the evening to Instagram, writing, "How is this my life? I got to be part of this crew celebrating @reba 's 40th anniversary of her first @opry appearance! Three legends...and me!!! So many dreams came true tonight!"
She shared another photo of herself with Parton, McEntire and Gill backstage, writing, "Pretty sure we're all besties now."
Gill is a mainstay of the Opry, and he was also on hand to help honor his fellow Oklahoman and friend.
Take a look at McEntire and Underwood's powerhouse performance of "Does He Love You" in the video at the top of the story.
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