MAN, OH, MANDRELL! Barbara’s making a music comeback
BARBARA MANDRELL is rarin’ to reign as queen of country music once again — more than two decades after she retired, according to insiders!
“Barbara’s making her presence known again after 27 years on the sidelines and is looking and feeling great,” says a source close to the 75-year-old, who stepped back from her red-hot career in 1997.
“Nashville’s been trying to get her back for years and she’s now answering the call,” our spy says. “Truth is, she got a little bored being stuck at home, watching TV and gardening.”
So over the last couple of years, Barbara’s been edging back into the spotlight. In 2022, the I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool singer appeared at a celebration of the 50th anniversary of her induction into the Grand Ole Opry, where artists including Carrie Underwood and CeCe Winans paid tribute.
Then last month, her album Precious Memories: 20 Hymns and Gospel Classics was reissued in honor of its 35th anniversary.
On April 1, the Country
Music Hall of Famer rubbed shoulders with Kelsea Ballerini and Martina McBride at the T.J. Martell Foundation Nashville Best Cellars gala, which raises money to fund cancer research.
“She’s enjoying the spotlight again,” the source shares. “Back in the day, Barbara was as big as or bigger than Carrie Underwood or Miranda Lambert. She’d like the sweet taste of success one more time.”
Next up: recording some new music and performing live in front of an audience. “She’s writing songs and loving the process,” the spy says.