When I was almost 17 and started my career in media by hosting a weekend radio show on a country music station, I was no stranger to country music and the great stories told in its songs. It was at my sixth birthday party that my friends and I did the twist — a dance born from rock ’n’ roll — to the twang of a Loretta Lynn album. She became my musical hero, so my childhood was spent singing songs such as, “You Ain’t Woman Enough” and “Don’t Come Home A-Drinkin’.”