Reba McEntire has done numerous duets over the years, including a memorable one in 2008. On her 2007 Reba: Duets album, McEntire is joined by Kenny Chesney on “Every Other Weekend”. The song is written by Skip Ewing and Connie Harrington.
A harrowing tale of children caught in the middle of their divorced parents, the song says, “Every other Friday / It’s toys and clothes and backpacks / Is everybody in / Okay, let’s go see dad / Same time in the same spot / Corner of the same old parking lot / Half the hugs and kisses there are always sad / We trade a couple words and looks and kids again / Every other weekend.”
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Chesney’s version of “Every Other Weekend” is on Reba: Duets. But after the song started unofficially getting airplay, Chesney’s vocals were replaced by Ewing. Although an official statement wasn’t given, it’s likely due to McEntire and Chesney being on different record labels. Still, although Ewing’s version was the official single, a lot of radio stations continued to play “Every Other Weekend” with Chesney on it instead.
McEntire’s Reba co-stars, Joanna García and Steve Howey, who played young parents in the sitcom, star in the video.
Reba McEntire Has Success With Numerous Other Duets
McEntire was joined by plenty of other artists on Reba: Duets. Among her guests on the project are LeAnn Rimes, Trisha Yearwood, Rascal Flatts, and Vince Gill, among others.
Although “Every Other Weekend” did not become a massive hit at radio, peaking inside the Top 15, she did have other successful singles from the project. The first release from Reba: Duets was “Because Of You”. Sung with Kelly Clarkson, it’s Clarkson who wrote the song with David Hodges and Ben Moody. The song became a crossover hit and a Top 5 at country radio.
Ironically, that song was also inspired by divorce. Clarkson’s parents split when she was just six years old. The heartbreak inspired Clarkson, years later, to write “Because Of You”. Clarkson says she wrote the tragic tune in about 25 minutes.
McEntire’s other duets include her iconic “Does He Love You” collaboration with Linda Davis. She also had a hit with “The Heart Won’t Lie”, a song she was originally slated to sing with Kenny Rogers before tapping Gill to sing on it with her instead.
“Kenny approached me at the CMA Awards,” McEntire recalls. “He said, ‘Why did you do that?’ I said, ‘Kenny, I am so sorry. We were just going so fast. It’s a great, wonderful song. I never even considered coming back and talking to you about that, and that’s one of the things I totally regret.’”
