Darius Rucker, who hit it big with Hootie and the Blowfish but has successfully crossed over into country when his recent album, Learn to Live, and song, Don't Think I Don't Think About It, went to No. 1 on the Billboard country charts. He’s excited because he’ll be on a float for the first time at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. “I’ll be on a Gibson guitar float, singing my new single,” he said. “It’s gonna make Thanksgiving very special for me and my family. My kids are so excited to watch. I watched the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade every year when I was a little boy.” I happen to know that Rucker is also considered one of the best golfers among music stars, and he told me his handicap is now at 8.3 (yes, they apparently do handicaps using the decimal system).  He said he still gets playing time in even though he’s busier than ever. “I’m playing three or four times a month now, which isn’t bad. But I’m used to playing 20 times a month so for me that is bad.”

Taylor Swift has made a huge leap in the country music food chain, as she’s nominated for female vocalist of the year this year after winning the award for best new artist last year. But tonight all she could think about was her dress, which, frankly, was killing her. It was a sequin and crystal Kaufman Franco gown (at right), and she said it “must weigh 30 pounds. It’s the heaviest dress I’ve worn. It feels like a bag of rocks.” That sounds almost as rocky as some of her relationships, which inevitably end up serving as fodder for her albums. “If a boy is going to get involved with me in any way, he should know that I'll probably end up writing a song about him,” she said. “That's why they better be nice to me."

Josh Turner was our cover boy for last year's CMA Awards story, along with Martina McBride, so by now he should be an old pro at this but he says he never gets used to it "I still feel like a rookie, it’s always a new experience for me,” he said. Josh’s music and songwriting is always close to the American experience, for better or worse. Both of us acknowledged that these are tough times, but Josh remains optimistic about the future. “It’s really hard for a lot of Americans right now to go through what we’re going through,” he said. “But like I wrote in my recent song, Everything is Fine, you need to remember that no matter how tough things get, no matter how tough the economy is and no matter how tough the wars we’re fighting overseas can be, we need to concentrate on the important things in our life.”

As we noted earlier today, Miley Cyrus turns 16 on Nov. 23, so, like me, her birthday always falls right around, if not on, Thanksgiving. Personally, I always hated this because, frankly, I’m not a big fan of the traditional turkey dinner. Especially when it sits in the oven for hours and gets dry. Sorry, folks, no amount of gravy can make a dry bird taste moist. Miley, however, feels just the opposite.  “I love having a birthday at Thanksgiving time,” she said. “It means I’m always going to have all my family around on my birthday.  We don’t get to see each other as much any more so that makes it all the more special. It also means I get to have the best cake and the best food on my birthday.” 

(Photos by Eileen Blass/USA TODAY)