March 1991 was a gut-wrenching month for Reba McEntire. The singer suffered a devastating loss when a plane crash claimed the lives of eight members of her band. As the Los Angeles Times reported,  McEntire and then-husband Narvel Blackstock had boarded a different plane, narrowly avoiding becoming part of the tragedy themselves.

Even in 2025, McEntire is still taking time out of her busy schedule to pay tribute to her fallen bandmates. This time, she posted an Instagram Story to acknowledge the 34th anniversary on March 16, writing: “Always in our minds, thoughts and prayers no matter how many years have passed. Love and miss you all,” according to Taste of Country.

The incident rocked the country music community, and unsurprisingly, McEntire struggled with the idea of continuing to perform. As she explained to Sunday World in 2021: “It was such a shock, and it happened so fast that you don’t know how to regroup and get back on your feet, much less getting back on stage.”

Luckily for McEntire and her legion of loyal fans, the country music queen found the strength to overcome this unimaginable tragedy with the help of her fellow country stars.

Dolly Parton & Vince Gill Offered to Lend a Helping Hand

GettyHonorees Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton attend the 11th Annual ACM Honors at the Ryman Auditorium on August 23, 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee.
McEntire may have found the idea of performing unthinkable after the plane crash, but several of her friends reached out with encouragement to continue her music journey.

As she recalled when speaking to Sunday World, fellow singer and Grand Ole Opry performer Vince Gill offered to lend a helping hand in a phone call soon after he learned of the crash. “I said, ‘How am I ever going to get back on stage and turn around and they’re not there?’ He said, ‘I’ll get on stage with you, I’ll help you, I’ll play guitar.’”

Gill wasn’t alone in his offer of support; McEntire’s longtime friend, the iconic Dolly Parton, called her with an offer to start rebuilding after the tragedy. As McEntire described in her Sunday World interview: “Dolly even called me and said, ‘You can take my band until you get your band together.’ She sent Billy Smith, her piano player, to put a band together for me.”

Like Gill, Parton empathized with a heartbroken McEntire but was determined to help her carry on.

Appearing in a Kenny Rogers Film Gave Reba McEntire a Positive Outlet

GettySingers Reba McEntire (L) and Kenny Rogers perform onstage during Muhammad Ali’s Celebrity Fight Night XX held at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort & Spa on April 12, 2014, in Phoenix, Arizona.
Distraction can be a powerful tool in healing from heartbreak, and that’s the gift legendary crooner Kenny Rogers gave McEntire a few months after the 1991 plane crash. Rogers invited the grief-stricken McEntire to appear in “The Gambler Returns: The Luck of the Draw,” a made-for-TV movie that was part of a larger series of films based on Rogers’ song, “The Gambler.”

Apparently, taking on the film role was exactly what McEntire needed. As she told Taste of Country in 2020: “Kenny saved my sanity in ’91 when he asked me to come do ‘The Gambler’ movie.”

As the article notes, McEntire starred in the film as Burgundy Jones, one of the story’s central characters. The movie was among McEntire’s first attempts at breaking into the film and television world, per IMDb, setting the stage for the successful acting career she would later build.

Reba McEntire Regularly Commemorates the Anniversary of the Crash

GettyReba McEntire attends Revels & Revelations 11 hosted by Bring Change To Mind in support of teen mental health at City Winery on October 9, 2023, in New York City.
Although the invaluable support from her friends in the country music industry helped McEntire get back on the proverbial horse, the singer clearly hasn’t forgotten about the loss of her bandmates. Her March 2025 post is just one of many examples of her taking time to honor them via social media.

In 2016, McEntire took to Facebook to share her feelings on the 25th anniversary of the crash, saying: “I feel in my heart that they know we still miss them so much. My love and prayers to all the families and friends.” This major milestone also saw the singer returning to the crash site in person.