 When Reba McEntire made her Grand Ole Opry debut on September 17 , 1977 , she almost did not make it in the door after a guard at the Opry gate missed her name on the night 's list of performers . Her parents and older sister , Alice , drove 1 @,@ 400 miles round trip from their Oklahoma home to see what turned out to be Reba 's three @-@ minute performance that night . Her act was cut from two songs to just one — " Invitation to the Blues " — because of a surprise appearance from Dolly Parton . McEntire was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry on January 17 , 1986 . " The Grand Ole Opry is a home , " she says . " It 's a family . It 's like a family reunion , when you come back and get to see everybody . " 
