Do you see yourself as an early feminist in country music as many do?

I think a lot of people relate to me because of my rural background. A lot of people were brought up kind of hard. Because they know I came from very humble beginnings with a lot of grief and a lot of guts. Being a girl on top of that, you have to be strong. I grew up in a family of six brothers and all my uncles and my dad. So I always had a great respect and understanding of men. But I had a lot of power because of my six sisters, my mother and my grandmother. So I’m a very rounded-out person.

How do you assess how women are faring on country radio where many have complained you don’t hear a lot of women?

Actually I think we have a lot of wonderful female artists in the business today. I’m really proud of them, too. I have always been proud to be a woman. And I’ve always been treated well. Of course we’d like to be played [on the radio] all the time. We certainly should be respected and appreciated for our talent like anybody else. And I think we are.

Is there one song that you are proudest of writing?

Coat of Many Colors [from 1971] is the song that’s closest to my heart. It means more to me for so many different reasons. It’s about mama, it’s about an attitude and a philosophy and covers a lot of territory, even bullying. But I love some of my love songs from my old albums like [1970’s]

Down from Dover, which has always been one of my favourites. It never was a single or a hit. But it was just a story song that I loved.