Sixteen years ago today, on Aug. 7, 2004, Reba McEntire soared to the top of the charts with the song “Somebody,” from her platinum-selling Room to Breathe album.
Written by Dave Berg and Sam and Annie Tate, “Somebody” was first recorded by Mark Wills, who included it on his Loving Every Minute album, but it was McEntire’s version that was released as a single, becoming her 22nd No. 1 hit. The tune’s powerful message – “Now they laugh about the moment that it happened / A moment they’d both missed until that day / When he saw his future in her eyes / Instead of just another friendly face / And he wonders why he searched so long / When she was always there at that diner waiting on” – helped it quickly become a fan favorite.
“I was walking around with most of that chorus … not exactly sure what it was or what to do with it,” Berg tells the NSAI. “And then one day, my co-writers, Sam and Annie Tate, put the hook on it. Their great storytelling abilities helped to finish it.”
The popularity of “Somebody” was propelled by its music video, which features McEntire sitting in a diner as the story unfolds. The country superstar included the song on her 2005 Reba Number 1’s and her 2008 50 Greatest Hits albums.
This story was originally written by Gayle Thompson, and revised by Annie Zaleski.
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