jerrylembo.com

Rascal Flatts closed the next-to-final leg of their “Bob That Head Tour” and debuted at number one with their Greatest Hits Volume 1 CD this month.    The 2 disc set not only has the obvious smash singles but also a selection of Christmas songs for your gift giving pleasure.

In January of the new year, Rascal Flatts will finish the “Bob Your Head Tour” with help from opening act Jessica Simpson.

“I’m thrilled to be hitting the road with Rascal Flatts,” Simpson told Country Weekly Magazine. “I just can’t wait to be out there and share my music with fans all across the country.”

Rascal Flatts is known to share more than songs with their fans.  The band told USA Weekend that they often take “Flatts Ride Treks” while on tour.

“We’ll zip in souped-up golf carts around the parking lots when the fans are tailgating and have some burgers and beers with them,” explained guitarist Joe Don Rooney. “It’s great to find out who they are and hear their stories.”

Flatts fans — have you ever hung with the band during a trek?  Comment and let us know.

Underwood envy, a return to her roots, or a career revitalization? Opinions differ as to the motivation for Jessica Simpson’s switch to country, but most folks seem to agree that it will be successful.

While some critics (message boarders and journalists alike) scoff at her songs and question her sincerity, fellow musicians have no such reservations, most notably Dolly Parton. The original country blonde bombshell collaborates with Simpson on her song “Come On Over,” from her new CD Do You Know.

Simpson famously disgraced herself on national television at the Kennedy Center Honors awarding Parton by forgetting the lyrics to “9 to 5″ and leaving the stage, an experience she says was so traumatizing that she considered abandoning singing permanently.

“I was just at a place where I’d lost a lot of confidence and I didn’t even know who I was,” Simpson told Yahoo News. “But Dolly totally took me under her wing and helped me up and over the cares of the world… It went from the Kennedy Center to her being a part of this record and getting letters from her of encouragement.”

Simpson knows that her personal life has been more the focus than her music for some time now, but tells Yahoo News she hopes her new album will change all that.

“I hope they listen to it, and my biggest hope for this record is that people aren’t listening to it and thinking about me and somebody else. That they can actually listen to it and relate to it.”

What do you think of Jessica Simpson going country? Comment and let us know.