By Keith Ryan Cartwright

Many factors go into recording hit songs, not the least of which is finding just the right recording studio. I have places that I like to sing and places that really sound good to me,” laughs Martina McBride, during the recording of the soon-to-be hit, When God-­Fearin Women Get the Blues at Nashville’s Money Pit. Acoustic advantages aside, Martina admits, “The biggest criteria is coffee. They have to have good coffee!”

Whether its the fresh ground coffee - black, no cream and sugar, thank you - her innate ability to pick memorable songs, or the comfort of working with her longtime producer Paul Worley, Martina bas been savoring success since releasing her debut disc, The Time Has Come, in 1992. Since that time, a dozen of her hits have reached the top 10 on the Billboard singles chart, four of those climbed all the way to No. 1, and her career record sales are nearing 10 million.

So when Martina decided to tag four brand new tracks onto her Greatest Hits album, due in September, it was no surprise that she once again called on Worley to join her in the studio. “At this point we kind of finish each others thoughts,” Martina explains. “We think things at the same time. I definitely don’t think we’ve used up all the creativity that we have together.”

Through the years the pair have created some of the most emotional and thought­-provoking songs in country music. “I think everybody always looks at me to have some kind of message or do strong women songs,” Martina says. “I don’t really ever set out to try and bind those kinds of songs. I’m just drawn to them. Among the mix of tunes on Greatest Hits, fans will easily recognize “Wild Angels,” “A Broken Wing” and, of course, the powerful “Independence Day.”

“A song like ‘Independence Day’ only comes along maybe once in a career” Martina says. “That was a combination ob an incredibly well-crafted song that had a lot of heart, and it had timing. It came out in a time period where it really was a first of its kind. It was kinda groundbreaking in a way. So I don’t know if any song I ever do will have that kind ob impact.

Nevertheless, if the new music Martina showcases among her collection of hits is any indication of what’s to come, she’s only getting more confident with age. “It’s interesting in that it kind of feels like I’m closing a door,” she says.

“When I go make a studio album it’s such an in-depth process,” Martina says, “It really ends up being something that takes up seven or eight months of my life. I got immersed in it and taken over by it and it’s really creative and artistic. This has been a little different because I feel like we’re adding to something that’s already done. It’s still fun, but it doesn’t feel as intense.”

Regardless of the amount of work exerted in the studio, Martina, who starts work on her next full-length studio album on the heels of this summers highly successful Girls Night Out Tour with Reba, Sara Evans, Jamie O’Neal and Carolyn Dawn Johnson, is not one to compromise her family life. In the nine years she’s been in the spotlight as a country music superstar, she and husband John have worked hard to offer their daughters, Delaney 6, and Emma, 3, a normal life outside the glare of the music business.

Now that Delaney has started school (she’s entering first grade this fall), Martina’s recording sessions and touring dates are scheduled in such a way that they don’t conflict with her daughter’s education.

For most of this project, Martina says, I’d go and drop her off at 8:15 and then come here from about 9 until about 2:30 every day and thon I’d go and pick her up.”

Needless to say it’s no surprise to barn that both of the young McBride girls have developed an ear for music. And Delaney in particular has reached the age where she’s finally able to understand what her mom does for a living.