March 9, 2009 — Reba McEntire is, by any measure, a successful woman who’s set precedents in country music and made her mark in a classy way. And yet, no matter how many barriers she breaks down, she can never quite free herself from some of what she learned as a kid.

"Things that happened to me in my childhood, growin’ up on a ranch, are totally instilled in me to the marrow of my bones, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get away from it," she told the national radio show GAC Nights: Live From Nashville. "You know, there was three things you didn’t do when we were growing up: During the daytime, you didn’t play cards, you didn’t watch TV and you didn’t count your money. And if we saw Daddy coming up the hill or down the hill from the hills, we knew if we were watchin’ TV, you better turn it off and pick up a broom and start sweepin’ — do somethin.' And even now, when I’m at the computer, if I hear that back door open and shut, I feel guilty, and so it’s somethin' that’s instilled in you from childhood that you can’t get away from."

Of course, when Reba’s at the computer, she’s not just playing around. She’s traded ideas online from Los Angeles with her Nashville producer, Tony Brown, as she records her next album. The project is expected in August, and she’ll perform the first single when she hosts the "44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards" from Las Vegas April 5.