From humble beginnings in Tasmania's rural north-west, Jean Stafford went on to become Australia's official Queen of Country Music.
Stafford is Australia's most decorated female country artist with more than 100 awards, including gold and platinum albums and number one hits across Australia, Europe, the United States and New Zealand.
During her six decades in the business, Stafford has borrowed a coat from Johnny Cash's wife, June, received the keys to Nashville, and made close friendships with country royalty .
"I didn't expect it to happen but I always loved country music from a very, very young age," Stafford said.
Stafford is part of the line up for this year's Festival of Voices winter singing festival, performing as part of the Tasmanian Songbook in Devonport, Launceston and Hobart.
She will join fellow country icons, The Wolfe Brothers, as well as Claire Ann Taylor, Glenn Richards and Jed Appleton.
Despite her successes around the world, Stafford said playing on home turf in Tasmania remained special.
"It's so exciting," she said.
"It's very important to me."
From Meander to Tamworth
Stafford was born in Latrobe, near Devonport on Tasmania's north-west, before growing up in a small house in rural Meander without power.
She listened to Launceston station 7LA on a transistor radio.
She learnt guitar and entered local talent quests before appearing on ShowTime, a popular Launceston TNT-9 television program, when she was 12.
In 1973 she won a 7LA talent quest and signed a deal with Hadley's Records.
She recorded her first solo album in Tamworth and took out a Golden Guitar award — the first Australian female act to win an award in Tamworth.
"I was a little bit out of my depth at the time because I came from Meander, which was one road in and one road out," Stafford said.
Crowned queen
Stafford was crowned Queen of Country Music in front of a theatre full of fans in Sydney by music legend Smoky Dawson in 1989.
"No one could have even guessed that was going to happen to me," she said.
Stafford said she put a lot of work into country music but did not expect to receive the honour.
Her music took her to Nashville, where she has recorded music and even received the keys to the city.
Stafford said she thought she was in heaven when she arrived in 1983.
"I got to meet people I grew up with and idolised," she said.
She met Kitty Wells, the United State's queen of country music.
"I would say she was the world's queen of country music," Stafford said.
Her relationship with Wells went from fan to friend to collaborator.
She said on their first meeting they were eating fried chicken in her office when a bus load of fans came through.
"She introduced me to all her fans and told them who I was," Stafford said.
"We went from that to being really good friends."
When Wells came to Australia in 1998 the pair toured together as the two queens.
In 1992 Stafford was appointed Tasmania's Honorary Commissioner for Tourism to the United States, with her song Tassie's Got it All said to have reached 500 million people.
Still recording
Stafford has lived in Sydney, Tamworth, Nashville and Queensland.
She returned home to Tasmania with partner, manager and guitarist Wayne Appleby about eight years ago.
Her three children call the state's north-west home.
Stafford is usually on the road touring 12 months of the year, but has not toured since 2019 due to the pandemic.
She will perform on the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville in November.
"To me it means everything," Stafford said.
"We've always called it the home church of country music.
"Anyone who has ever been anyone in country music within America has stood on the Grand Ole Opry stage. To me, it's a part of our history."
Stafford and Appleby have plans to go back to the United States and record more music later this year.
