"It's funny," Lorrie Morgan says of the realizations she's been having about her music, "the longer I do this, the stronger I feel about the Grand Ole Opry. There's just this tremendous sense of roots and family there-and being connected to that is so grounding. It really keeps you focused on what's important because if you cut off the roots, the tree dies, no matter how healthy it is."

Certainly Lorrie Morgan's reverence for vintage country permeates her reprise of Billy Joe Spears "Standing Tall." It echoes the same honor-one's-influences ador that gave Morgan's versions of George Jones' "A Picture of Me Without You," and Sealey's Grammy-winning "Don't Touch Me," their gut-crunching impact.

"Those songs were timeless, and they said something about how people lived their lives. That's what country music is supposed to be about. At least, that's what I grew up believing. That's one of the things I really liked about 'Standing Tall'.. .it's a song about refusing to give up my self-respect. (When you're in a relationship), it's so easy to cave in and go against your own judgment, but it's just as easy to be strong and stand tall. You always have to keep that in mind."

Being strong and standing tall has been a large part of Lorrie Morgan's constitution since she started singing in honky tonks while still in high school to buy herself a car. The daughter of Opry legend George Morgan, the diminutive young woman was imbued with both a sense of the music's origins and hard-won work ethic.

Over the years, it would carry Lorrie Morgan's through her father's untimely death, endless close career calls and road stints--including spending a period as featured singer with George Jones--and the death of her husband, hard country singer Keith Whitley from alcohol overdose during the promotional tour for Leave The Light On, her debut album. A single mother of two, nothing defines Lorrie Morgan so well, though, as her drive to survive.

And from that will to provide for her children, Lorrie Morgan dug in and made great music. Whether it's the last ditch attempt at reconciliation, "Five Minutes," the full--throttle thumping of "Trainwreck of Emotion," the direct rebuttal "What Part of No," or the swelling balladry of "Something in Red," which move through the stages of a woman s life, Lorrie Morgan has become one of country's most consistent sellers, because she sings songs that say something about who women are, what they want and how they feel.

In a world of contrived emotions and pandering to the lowest common denominator, that's a fairly revolutionary equation. But in Lorrie Morgan's case, it's the only way. "Artists need to be moved to tears by their own songs. Over the years, it's seemed that my favorite songs, the ones that really get me, are always the fans' favorites, too. For me, I get to make about an album a year. That's ten songs, which really isn't very many. If I'm going to make a record, I want to make sure they're songs that really speak to me. They have to; because even if it's something playful, it's a spot I could be using for something else. And I think that's the difference between cutting great songs that matter to you and songs that are hits just because they're hits."

Though Lorrie Morgan did no writing for the three new songs on this collection-"I found songs that said everything about where I was in my life perfectly"- Lorrie Morgan continues the writing bent she began with War Paint, she's got a bumper cop of summer and fall concert dates. And Lorrie Morgan is coming into her own as a superstar who balances being a working mom with the glamour of being a celebrity.

"I think 'I Didn't Know My Own Strength' really does sum it up," Morgan smiles, "That's where I am in my own life right now. I'm releasing my Greatest Hits, and I never thought I'd be doing that so soon in my career. But then, all I've ever done was focus on what needed to be done and kept going. When that's how you work, it's easy to miss the ground you're covering. For a lot of women, that's just how it is. But that's that thing about women today, too. Because of this, they're strong and have this fullness of who they are. They're single moms. They're working. They're living their lives. And they have all these things to bring to a relationship, if they so chose. Given that, it's an exciting time to be singing songs to and about women.

There's a twinkle in Lorrie Morgan's eye as she pauses. "And it's a pretty good time for men to be listening to all this, too."