Reba McEntire, a country music legend known to have a big heart, is helping out a fellow country music artist Dawn Sears, who's battling cancer.
McEntire is headlining a concert that Sears organized to raise funds and awareness for lung cancer research. Sears, a vocalist of the four-time Grammy-nominated band The Time Jumpers, announced on her official Facebook page that she has been diagnosed with Stage 3B lung cancer. Sears is also a long-time member of Vince Gill's touring band.
It's clear that Sears herself wants to help others with lung cancer. The gutsy singer has organized "Dawn Sears and Friends: A Benefit for Lung Cancer Research." In addition to McEntire, the concert will feature performances by The Time Jumpers and Riders In The Sky. Gold-winning Olympic figure skater Scott Hamilton, a cancer survivor, will emcee the event at the Depot Square in Gallatin, Tennessee, on Nov. 30, at 6:30 p.m.
"I am on a mission to help fund lung cancer research at Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center," Dawn said on The Time Jumper's website. "A benefit concert is the best way I know how to do that. It is my mission to bring more hope to those of us with lung cancer. I was diagnosed with lung cancer over a year ago and I now have a greater understanding of the daily battle and challenges that people with cancer of any kind face."
Sears won her first talent contest at the VFW Hall in Grand Forks, North Dakota, when she was 14 - right across the river from where she grew up in East Grand Forks, Minnesota, according to her bio on the website. When she was 17 - and with her parents' cautious consent - she began touring with a band throughout the West and Midwest.
She got her first break in Nashville when TV personality Ralph Emery asked her to sing on his morning show. That led to a contract with Warner Bros. Records in 1991, and the release of three well-received singles. In 1992, Vince Gill invited her to go on the road as a backup singer, a role she still occupies
Over the past several decades, McEntire has continued to reign as the "Queen of Country," collaborating with other country music hit-makers like Kenny Chesney, Trisha Yearwood and LeAnn Rimes. In 2003, McEntire released the album "Room To Breathe," which went on to earn U.S. platinum status. "Reba: Duets" (2007) followed, and also went platinum in the U.S. Two years later, the singer released "Keep On Loving You" (2009).
To purchase tickets to Dawn Sears and Friends: A Benefit for Lung Cancer Research, or to donate to Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center's lung cancer research efforts, go to dawnsearsandfriends.com.
