The Fear of Being Alone

"The Fear of Being Alone"
"The Fear of Being Alone"
Single by Reba McEntire
from the album What If It's You
B-side	"Never Had a Reason To"
Released	September 16, 1996
Recorded	1996
Studio	Starstruck Studios (Nashville, TN)
Genre	Country
Length	3:04
Label	MCA Nashville
Songwriter(s)	Walt Aldridge; Bruce Miller;
Producer(s)	Reba McEntire; John Guess;
Reba McEntire singles chronology

"The Fear of Being Alone" is a song by American country music artist Reba McEntire, released on September 16, 1996, as the lead single to her 22nd studio album What If It's You (1996).

The song was written by Walt Aldridge and Bruce Miller and produced by McEntire and John Guess; although he was featured as an engineer on McEntire's previous albums, this was the first time he was directly involved with the production. Recording for the song took place in Starstruck Studios in Nashville, Tennessee.

Critically acclaimed, "The Fear of Being Alone" was a success, giving McEntire her first top-five single in nearly two years.^[2] It peaked at number two on the US Hot Country Songs chart while topping Canada's RPM Country Tracks.

Content

The song is about a woman and man, who is presumed to be a widower, going on a date. When the man tries to say that he loves her, she rejects it, saying he doesn't really love her and only loves her because he doesn't want to be alone.

Critical reception

Deborah Evans Price from Billboard gave the single a positive review saying, "McEntire's vocal performance infuses the song with a mixture of hope and caution. Penned by Walt Aldridge and Bruce Miller, it's a strong song, and McEntire's vibrant performance should serve her well at country radio."^[3] In his retrospective series "Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties", Kevin John Coyne of Country Universe critically praised the track, calling it McEntire's best single of the decade and one of the best country songs of all time.^[4]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "The Fear of Being Alone" was directed by Dominic Orlando. It features McEntire singing at a recording studio, filmed at Starstruck Studios. The video debuted to CMT on October 6, 1996.^[5] The following week on October 13, 1996, the video debuted to the now defunct The Nashville Network.

Charts

On October 5, 1996, "The Fear of Being Alone" debuted at number 41 on the US Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, becoming both the Hot Shot Debut of the week and McEntire's highest debut on the chart, only being broken by "Strange" when it debuted at number 39 in 2009.^[6] It peaked at number two on the chart the week of December 7, 1996, blocked by Alan Jackson's "Little Bitty". It spent ten weeks in the top ten and spent 20 weeks overall on the chart. It however reached number one on Radio & Records, topping the magazine's country chart on December 6, 1996. The song also reached as high as number eight on Cashbox's Country Singles chart before the magazine ceased publication in November 1996.

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[7]	1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)^[8]	2
US Country Top 50 (Radio & Records)^[9]	1
US Top 100 Country Singles (Cashbox)^[10]	8^[a]

Year-end charts

Chart (1996)	Position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)^[11]	36
US Country (Radio & Records)^[12]	78

Chart (1997)	Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)^[13]	84

Notes

^ "The Fear of Being Alone" reached number eight when Cashbox ceased publication in November 1996.

References

^ Price, Deborah Evans (October 19, 1996). "McEntire cuts new image". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. pp. 13, 20. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books. The first single, "The Fear of Being Alone," shipped to country radio Sept. 16...
^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 227.
^ Evans Price, Deborah (September 28, 1996). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. p. 86. Retrieved December 2, 2022.
^ Coyne, Kevin John (June 29, 2022). "Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties: Reba McEntire, "The Fear of Being Alone"". Country Universe. Retrieved August 20, 2024.
^ "Video Monitor: New Ons". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. Nielsen Business Media. October 19, 1996. p. 97. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Google Books.
^ "Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media. April 25, 2009. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Google Books. New track nets career-high solo bow previously set when "Fear of Being Alone" entered at No. 41 in 1996.
^ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9886." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 2, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
^ "Reba McEntire Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
^ "R&R Country Top 50". Radio & Records. No. 1175. December 6, 1996. p. 47.
^ "Cashbox Top 100 Country Singles". Cashbox. Vol. 60, no. 8. November 16, 1996. p. 20.
^ "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.
^ "Country: Top 96 of '96". Radio & Records. No. 1176. December 13, 1996. p. 57.
^ "Country: Best of '97". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 26, 1997. p. 8.

[11] "The Fear of Being Alone" reached number eight when Cashbox ceased publication in November 1996.

[1] Price, Deborah Evans (October 19, 1996). "McEntire cuts new image". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. pp. 13, 20. ISSN 0006-2510 – via Google Books. The first single, "The Fear of Being Alone," shipped to country radio Sept. 16...

[2] Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition. Record Research. p. 227.

[3] Evans Price, Deborah (September 28, 1996). "Reviews & Previews: Singles". Billboard. p. 86. Retrieved December 2, 2022.

[4] Coyne, Kevin John (June 29, 2022). "Every No. 1 Single of the Nineties: Reba McEntire, "The Fear of Being Alone"". Country Universe. Retrieved August 20, 2024.

[5] "Video Monitor: New Ons". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 42. Nielsen Business Media. October 19, 1996. p. 97. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Google Books.

[6] "Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Vol. 121, no. 16. Nielsen Business Media. April 25, 2009. p. 49. ISSN 0006-2510. Retrieved August 19, 2024 – via Google Books. New track nets career-high solo bow previously set when "Fear of Being Alone" entered at No. 41 in 1996.

[sc_Canadacountry_-7] "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 9886." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. December 2, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.

[sc_Billboardcountrysongs_Reba_McEntire-8] "Reba McEntire Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.

[9] "R&R Country Top 50". Radio & Records. No. 1175. December 6, 1996. p. 47.

[10] "Cashbox Top 100 Country Singles". Cashbox. Vol. 60, no. 8. November 16, 1996. p. 20.

[12] "RPM Top 100 Country Tracks of 1996". RPM. December 16, 1996. Retrieved July 20, 2013.

[13] "Country: Top 96 of '96". Radio & Records. No. 1176. December 13, 1996. p. 57.

[14] "Country: Best of '97". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 5, no. 52. December 26, 1997. p. 8.

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v t e Reba McEntire singles
Albums Singles Videos
1970s	"I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (with Jacky Ward) "Sweet Dreams"
1980s	"(You Lift Me) Up to Heaven" "I Can See Forever in Your Eyes" "I Don't Think Love Ought to Be That Way" "Today All Over Again" "Only You (And You Alone)" "I'm Not That Lonely Yet" "Can't Even Get the Blues" "You're the First Time I've Thought About Leaving" "Why Do We Want (What We Know We Can't Have)" "There Ain't No Future in This" "Just a Little Love" "He Broke Your Memory Last Night" "How Blue" "Somebody Should Leave" "Have I Got a Deal for You" "Only in My Mind" "Whoever's in New England" "Little Rock" "What Am I Gonna Do About You" "Let the Music Lift You Up" "One Promise Too Late" "The Last One to Know" "Love Will Find Its Way to You" "A Sunday Kind of Love" "I Know How He Feels" "New Fool at an Old Game" "Cathy's Clown" "'Til Love Comes Again" "Little Girl"
1990s	"Walk On" "You Lie" "Rumor Has It" "Fancy" "Fallin' Out of Love" "For My Broken Heart" "Is There Life Out There" "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia" "The Greatest Man I Never Knew" "Take It Back" "The Heart Won't Lie" (with Vince Gill) "It's Your Call" "Does He Love You" (with Linda Davis) "They Asked About You" "Why Haven't I Heard from You" "She Thinks His Name Was John" "Till You Love Me" "The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter" "And Still" "On My Own" "Ring on Her Finger, Time on Her Hands" "Starting Over Again" "You Keep Me Hangin' On" "The Fear of Being Alone" "How Was I to Know" "I'd Rather Ride Around with You" "What If It's You" "If You See Him/If You See Her" (with Brooks & Dunn) "Forever Love" "Wrong Night" "One Honest Heart" "What Do You Say"
2000s	"I'll Be" "We're So Good Together" "I'm a Survivor" "Sweet Music Man" "I'm Gonna Take That Mountain" "Somebody" "He Gets That from Me" "My Sister" "You're Gonna Be (Always Loved by Me)" "Love Needs a Holiday" "Because of You" (with Kelly Clarkson) "The Only Promise That Remains" (with Justin Timberlake) "Every Other Weekend" (with Kenny Chesney or Skip Ewing) "Strange" "Consider Me Gone"
2010s	"I Keep On Loving You" "Turn On the Radio" "If I Were a Boy" "When Love Gets a Hold of You" "Somebody's Chelsea" "Going Out Like That" "Until They Don't Love You" "Just Like Them Horses" "Softly and Tenderly" "Back to God" "God and My Girlfriends" "Freedom"
2020s	"Does He Love You" (with Dolly Parton) "I Can't"
Other singles	"Mind Your Own Business" (with Hank Williams Jr.) "Oklahoma Swing" (with Vince Gill) "Cowgirls Don't Cry" (with Brooks & Dunn) "Forever Country" (with Various artists) "Be a Light" (with Thomas Rhett) "What If"