Had I not ended up with a forty-year career on the air, one of the other career paths that I might have pursued would have been being a recording engineer in Nashville.

Part of my job now requires engineering. As I've always said, I've got the buttons.

Had I been in Nashville, and had I been working on Dolly Parton's new double album, which is a greatest hits compilation, (yes, another one) I would have asked why she chose not to include a couple of songs that I thought might be on there.

Her new collection is called "Diamonds & Rhinestones".

Greatest Hits are usually based on sales and chart position. Dolly has had some big ones.

So she had to include "9 to 5", "Islands in The Stream", "Here You Come Again" and "I Will Always Love You".

But I would've made the case for including "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind". Both the original studio version and then the version that she did with Chet Atkins on guitar.

And I was also surprised that she didn't include anything from her Trio songs when she recorded with Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris.  Their first album included four singles. And "Those Memories Of You" did pretty well.

But then again, she didn't include any of her duets with Porter Waggoner either.

But when you've had 243 songs on the radio in your career like Dolly Parton, I would imagine that it's hard to narrow it down to just 23 to put on your record.

A couple of my favorites by her are "He's Alive", her version of Jerry Lee Lewis's "Great Balls Of Fire", and she sings the words of "House Of The Rising Sun" to the tune of "Ghost Riders In The Sky" by Johnny Cash.

50 Classic Country Artists Today’s Fans Should Know

Today's country music stars owe a debt of gratitude to the legends who formed and cultivated the genre, starting in the early 20th century. These 50 classic country artists remain relevant today. Some developed a style that's emulated on today's country radio. Others set a bar for vocal talent or songwriting skill.

This list of 50 influential classic country artists features country music singers who started their careers before 1990. It's ranked by each artist's current influence on the country music format today, not individual, lifelong impact. Tell us where we got it right or wrong on Twitter.