Carlene Carter photo courtesy of Yep Roc Records.

When this "party girl" period ended, Carlene returned to Nashville. She joined her mother and aunts as a member of The Carter Family in 1986 and recorded an album with them in 1988. Doing that reminded her of her country roots, and the prodigal daughter began to make her own records on Music Row.

In the 1990s, Carlene sailed to the top of the country hit parade with such jaunty tunes as "I Fell in Love," "Come on Back" and "Every Little Thing." Her witty personality, ready smile and country-hip manner endeared her to fans. Carlene toured with fellow second-generation stars Pam Tillis and Lorrie Morgan and starred in her own cable TV series on both VH-1 and TNN.

Her career sputtered through the emotional whirlwind of her life, but she reclaimed her life, and now Carlene Carter has fought her way back. Stronger is the triumphant and undeniable proof.

"I started it with John Carter Cash [her step-brother, June and Johnny’s son]. He basically said, ‘Do you have any new songs? Why don’t we just go into the studio and try something?’ So we did. I was getting ready to go to Europe, so we put it together as a pre-release [in 2006]."

Carlene sold the first version of Stronger on the Internet and at her shows. But after performing the new songs for awhile, she decided she wanted the record to have more punch. She turned to her old friend and former band member, John McFee. When he was in The Doobie Brothers, she’d written their 1980 hit "One Step Closer." When he was in Southern Pacific, she’d sung with the band on a 1989 single called "Time’s Up." McFee returned to the Doobies after Southern Pacific broke up. Carlene brought him the Stronger songs. He layered track after track of music on them, playing almost every instrument himself.

"He’s amazing," says Carlene. "He actually did a lot of the overdubs while he was touring with the Doobies. He’s very driven, and he was very passionate about it. I think he really liked the music. It was really a great experience doing this with him.

"I think the whole thing sounds kind of ‘retro,’ but at the same time, it’s got a modern kind of feel to it."