It’s been 30 years since Jo Dee Messina released her debut album and signature hit “Heads Carolina, Tails Carolina.”
But the Massachusetts-born singer and songwriter isn’t resting on her abundant laurels, including six No. 1 country hits, two of which went double-platinum and three of which made her the first female artist in country music history to have three consecutive multi-week chart-toppers.
“Y’know, it’s just what I do — I make music and I tour,” Messina, 55, says via phone from her home in Nashville. “There’s a lot more wisdom now, a lot more perspective on life in general. But I don’t talk about years. I don’t talk about numbers. I never really looked at it like a time limit. ‘Oh, this is gonna be over in five minutes’ or something like that.’ In the moment, you’re just thinking about the next single, the next single, the next single, not doing this for 30 years…