When singer-songwriter Miranda Lambert was asked about valuable advice she was given from other country stars, her mind immediately jumped to country's effervescent icon, Dolly Parton.
"When I met Dolly [Parton], the overall message was, "Keep going. You do you. Believe in what you believe in and don't take no,'" Lambert told Time in a recent interview. In a perfectly Lambert fashion, she added with confidence, "That's how I've always lived, but it was so nice to have someone like her reassure me of that."
Like Parton, Lambert's propensity to work hard has helped earn her a spot in country music history. Lambert's won a record-breaking 32 ACM awards, while Parton now has an award named in her honor, the Dolly Parton Excellence in Leadership Award. Both women also have incredible charities, Parton has the Imagination Library that gives books to children, and Lambert has the MuttNation Foundation that helps shelter dogs find homes.
Read More: Miranda Lambert Confirms New Pistol Annies Album is Coming This Fall
Continuing the headstrong nature Parton encouraged Lambert to maintain, she also spoke to Time about female country singers in general. "For the past couple of years it's been skewed one way: a lack of women and songs with content from women's perspectives. When Carrie [Underwood] and I first came on the scene, there was this whole generation of women before us," she said.
Lambert noted that in recent years, male artists have ruled the charts, but she feels a change in the tide in the Nashville music scene: "Women want to hear women, because we want to know we're not alone in all of our issues, you know? I mean, I do. I want to feel like someone's telling my story."
In the same interview, Lambert confirmed the upcoming Fall release of her new album with the Pistol Annies. Knowing that country music needs a "good balance" of female and male artists, Lambert is proud to work alongside Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley to bring back the talented trio.
