Reba McEntire is amazed by her own longevity

Asked how she feels about reaching the milestone, Reba told People: "Very grateful, very thankful. And I never thought at the 20th anniversary that I'd be hitting this one. But I have to give a lot of credit to people who have been before me - Tammy [Wynette], Dolly [Parton], Loretta [Lynn] - who have paved the roads for girl singers of my generation and the ones that are coming up after me. So it's been a lot of fun.

"You always want to work real hard and make them proud."

Reba also credits God for her success and longevity.

The country singer said: "God gave me a gift and I try to use it and to give him all the praise and the glory. Because without him I wouldn't have had it and could have given it to somebody else, so I try to make him proud."

Meanwhile, Reba recently admitted to being naive at the start of her music career.

The 'How Was I to Know' hitmaker entered the music industry after being discovered while singing the US national anthem at a rodeo, and Reba drew a comparison between the two worlds, insisting that music and rodeos are actually more similar than many people may think.

Speaking to Variety, Reba explained: "When I started out in the music business, I didn't know anything about it.

"What I did know is that in rodeo and ranching, it's a man's world: You insert yourself, you work your a** off. You don't b**** about it, you don't complain, you just work harder."

Reba suggested that her work ethic has been central to her success in the music business.

The singer - who released her self-titled debut album back in 1977 - said: "When I got into the music business, that work ethic was still there."