Jessica Simpson Praises Dolly Parton's Influence On Country Album 9/10/08

Jessica Simpson credits singing legend Dolly Parton with the critical acclaim of her country music album - because the icon's intervention helped her record better songs before its release.

Simpson and Parton collaborated on the 28-year-old's debut country album Do You Know, released on Tuesday (09Sep08). The former pop singer reveals that when Parton heard the LP, she insisted on scrapping a string of songs and replacing them with her own.

And the country queen's intervention reassured Simpson that she could reach stardom outside of the pop realm. Simpson says, "She had a handful of songs for me and I played my record for her and she was like, "Oh, these songs aren't good enough, I have to write one.'

"So she wrote (my first single) Do You Know, and then I was blessed to have her actually sing on the track with me." Editors at Rolling Stone praised Simpson's efforts in a recent review, calling the album "the most strong-footed move" she's made.