LORETTA LYNN

The “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer-songwriter, 88, will release her 50th studio album, Still Woman

Enough, on March 19. With homages to Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Family, and collaborations with Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood, Margo Price and Tanya Tucker, it celebrates her fellow females of country music.

What was your goal for album number 50? Recording is what I do, who I am. I guess I just want my fans to always have something new from me to listen to.

Still Woman Enough is the name of your 2002 memoir, one of your new songs and also this album. What does

it mean to you to still be woman enough? We as women sometimes feel we are not enough—smart enough, pretty enough, on and on. I’ve had the same struggles. So I made the sayin’ “still woman enough” as my pep talk to myself. When I wrote the song, I wanted it to be about being strong and liking who I was as a woman.

What is the pleasure in joining forces with other women artists? I love each one of the girls. Tanya has been my friend for almost 50 years. She was just a little girl starting out when we met. Reba and Carrie, I think, are the best in the business, but more than that, they are good people. Margo and I got to know each other the last few years. I love her songwriting, and she sings it with heart and guts. I see a little bit of myself in her.

At 88, are there still questions you are trying to answer about life? I am still learning. Only God has all the answers of life, and I can’t wait to ask him.

What songs got Lynn banned from the radio? Go to Parade.com/loretta ÌŖ WOE` ŖÕÌ°