Q: When you look at your career now, what surprises you most?

Sheena: I’m always amazed I’m still working and that the fans are still there. I stepped back from the constant album–tour cycle to raise my kids, and I’m so grateful I didn’t have to sacrifice family to keep doing what I love.

Q: You’ve sung “Morning Train (Nine to Five)” for decades. What’s your relationship with that song today?

Sheena: Like any artist, I went through phases. At first it’s exciting. Then you only want to sing the new stuff. Now I look at the audience and see couples grab each other’s hands because it’s “their” song, and that makes me fall in love with it all over again.

Q: “For Your Eyes Only” is such an iconic Bond theme. What has being part of that world meant to you?

Sheena: It was huge for me. It came right after “Morning Train” and took my music to even more places because Bond fans will embrace the theme even if they don’t know the singer. As a kid I was always excited for the new Bond song, so being asked so early in my career felt surreal and still feels like a badge of honor.

Q: Songs like “Strut” and “Sugar Walls” definitely pushed the envelope. How do you see that chapter now?

Sheena: People say I “changed my image,” but really I just grew up. I started as a college kid. By the mid‑’80s I was a woman with more life experience and broader musical tastes. Some folks don’t like to see you change, but you have to pull them along and say, “I’m more grown up now — this is who I am.”

Q: There was controversy around “Sugar Walls” and that famous Tipper Gore list. How did you feel about that?

Sheena: We were on the list of songs kids “shouldn’t” hear and, honestly, I said that’s fine — if you don’t want your children listening, don’t let them. Parents should police what their little ones hear, but adults should decide for themselves. You can’t tell the whole world what art they’re allowed to like.

Q: You’ve worked with legends like Prince. What was he like in the studio with you?

Sheena: Everyone pictures this intense genius — and he was a genius — but in the studio he was relaxed. We laughed a lot, sang Joni Mitchell around the piano, and by the time we hit “record,” it felt like we’d known each other forever. He had a great sense of humor and loved to prank you.

Q: If you could talk to the little girl Sheena who just wanted to sing, what would surprise her most about you now?

Sheena: She’d probably be shocked that I’m “this old.” As a kid I fully believed it would happen; children are dreamers and haven’t been taught to be afraid of failure yet. It was my older self who became less sure it would last this long.

— By Stan Pillman

Sheena Easton performs live at BPAC’s Owens Auditorium, 3395 Airport Rd., Pinehurst, on Friday, March 20 at 7 p.m. For tickets and information go to www.ticketmesandhills.com.