Two half-ton pickups were given to the Boy Scouts and Feed the Hungry.

Art Harris, director at Camp Bob Hardin, says the Boy Scouts need the four-by-four with the extended cab.

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Rev. Ronal King with to Feed the Hungry says he needs vehicles to deliver food and other items across York County’s 695 square miles.

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Comporium’s Paul Kutz says both organizations are deserving of receiving a surplus vehicle.

Country music stars sure love Twitter! This week, Kellie Pickler gets a well-deserved break while her husband Kyle Jacobs and GAC’s Storme Warren celebrate with her Mirror Ball trophy, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert reflect on Moore, Oklahoma, Brad Paisley isn’t impressed with his Nashville appearance and Chris Young mans the grill pre-show. Here are our picks for this week’s Top 10 Country Tweets Of The Week:

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/kelliepickler.

Kellie Pickler – KelliePickler: After a crazy 3 months its nap time w/my 3 babies. #puppylove

Carrie Underwood – CarrieUnderwood: Growing up in tornado alley, you always know what could happen…it doesn’t change how devastating it is when something does happen. #pray

Miranda Lambert – MirandaLambert: Sometime I feel helpless. I hope that if we can bring awareness through music that we did and will continue to do so. #PrayForOklahoma

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/stormewarren.

Storme Warren – StormeWarren: @kelliepickler ‘s hubby @kylecjacobs and me with Kellie’s trophy ball.

Brad Paisley – BradPaisley: Man,the actor they got playing me tonight on @Nashville_ABC is not as handsome as I think I am.

Florida Georgia Line – FLAGALine: Sitting at the Billboards next to Wayne Newton – we’re bringing him a margarita and his wife a cranberry vodka – #everythingwehopedthiswouldbe

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/jakeowen.

Jake Owen – JakeOwen: Sunday is family boat day. My favorite day.

Taylor Swift - TaylorSwift13: That San Antonio crowd was amazing and SO loud. Now I’m stuck in my own concert traffic, which is a conflicting feeling.

Martina McBride – MartinaMcBride: Department store dressing room mirrors are evil. #doireallylooklikethis?!

Photo courtesy of Twitter.com/chrisyoungmusic.

Chris Young – ChrisYoungMusic: Finished product baby!!

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Carrie Underwood photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.

Carrie Underwood wrapped her Blown Away Tour in Abbottsford, BC Thursday night with a one million dollar donation to the American Red Cross for disaster relief. The charitable contribution comes from the tour’s concert proceeds. While the charitable component was established when the tour launched in the spring of 2012, it has a very personal meaning for Carrie now, following the tornado in Moore, Oklahoma.

“I have watched the devastation in my home state of Oklahoma over the past several days with great sadness,” she said.  “With the help of my fans who attended my concerts over the past year, we can offer the Red Cross a little extra help in comforting those affected by the recent tornadoes.”

“The impact of the tornadoes in Oklahoma and the Midwest was devastating and the road to recovery will be long for many families,” Neal Litvack, chief development officer for the Red Cross, said. “Through the generosity of Carrie, the American Red Cross can quickly respond with shelter, food and comfort now, and with lasting help as they move toward recovery.”

Earlier in the tour, following a performance in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Carrie donated the night’s proceeds to support the response and relief efforts in New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. Proceeds from her Canadian concerts will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross.

Every year, the American Red Cross prepares for and responds to nearly 70,000 disasters across the United States where they provide shelter, food, and emotional support for those in need.

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Travis Tritt’s 2013 album, The Calm After… Photo courtesy of Shock Ink.

Travis Tritt will celebrate Father’s Day by releasing “Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough,” a remake of the Patty Smyth and Don Henley hit he recorded with his 15-year-old daughter, Tyler Reese. The single will be available June 16 and is featured on his new album, The Calm After…, out July 9.

“We were driving home from a wedding in Florida when the song came up on my iPod,” Travis said of how the duet came to be. “She started singing along in the backseat. When we got home I told my wife that I thought Tyler Reese could really do a great job on this. I know I sound like a biased parent, but she’s got a lot of talent and charisma. The recording speaks for itself. She really nailed it.”

The Calm After… is an updated release of his 2007 album, The Storm. Last year, Travis received ownership of the album’s masters from his former record label, which was the first step that led to the formation of his own Post Oak Recordings.

“I’ve been talking about starting my own record label for five years, and it all hinged on having those masters back in my control,” Travis said. “I feel so humbled and blessed to be where I am right now. My voice has never been stronger, I’m constantly playing and working to become a better guitar player, banjo player, vocalist and songwriter. I am honestly as excited about the creative process and performing now as I was the day I signed my first record deal.”

“Sometimes Love Just Ain’t Enough” will also be available for free download through People Country magazine from May 24 until Father’s Day.

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Alabama photo courtesy of Hot Schatz PR.

Alabama has announced their first “Alabama & Friends Festival at Sea,” a musical cruise aboard the Norwegian Pearl. The four night luxury cruise will take place October 24-28 and travel from Miami to Nassau and Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas.

Diamond Rio, Craig Morgan, Randy Travis and Meghan Linsey of Steel Magnolia along with DJ DU, Joe Bachman, Scott Munns, Striking Matches, Hudson Moore, Natalie Stovall Band, Rockit City with Teddy Gentry, and Jeff Cook and the AGB will also be aboard the boat for performances and more. For more information, visit www.alabamafestivalatsea.com.

In addition to live performances, fans will have the opportunity to meet the members of Alabama and other celebrity guests in an up close and personal setting. They’ll also take home memorabilia from the trip, including an autographed cruise poster.

After leaving the port in Miami, the ship’s first stop will be in Nassau, where guests will have opportunity to visit local beaches or explore the city. They will also have the opportunity to explore the secluded beaches of Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, for their very own private island getaway.

Norwegian Pearl offers guests 13 bars and lounges, 19 dining options, one outdoor pool, four hot tubs and spa treatments to help forget about the world left behind. Besides taking in live music, passengers can take on the outdoor climbing wall, bowl a few frames at the on board lanes, or visit The Pearl Club Casino.

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Craig Morgan and Nan kelley photo courtesy of GAC staff.

In honor of Memorial Day, GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown is paying a visit to Fort Campbell army base in Clarksville, Tennessee. Craig Morgan, a proud Army Veteran, joins host Nan Kelley for the visit as she chats with recent Silver Star recipient SFC Matthew Loheide and S.O.A.R. program founder MSG Michael Byers.

Top 20 Photo Gallery »

Nan and Craig also visit the Don F. Pratt Museum, which chronicles the history of the 101^st Airborne Division. Can Nan keep up when she and Craig go rappelling at Sabalauski Air Assault School? Tune in tonight at 8/7c to find out on this special episode of Top 20! Full schedule »

Want to re-watch some of your favorite interviews? Head over to our Top 20 section for videos, photos and more! You can also catch Top 20 Extras, cast your votes, and take a look at the current chart to see where your favorite videos land. Visit Top 20 »

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Little Big Town photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

Little Big Town debuted their brand new video, “Your Side of the Bed,” Thursday morning during a visit to Good Morning America. Directed by Becky Fluke, the heart wrenching video takes place at the historic Tennessee Theater and The Oliver Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee over the course of one night.

“Your Side of the Bed” was co-written by Little Big Town and Lori McKenna and has gained rave reviews from critics who describe the song as “stunning” and “…an unusually subtle power ballad.” They will join Keith Urban’s Light The Fuse Tour in July.

Watch the “Your Side of the Bed” video below:

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Tim McGraw photo courtesy of The Green Room.

This Memorial Day, country stars are taking time to pay tribute to our service men and women who sacrifice for our freedoms. Tim McGraw has been a longtime supporter of the troops and believes everyone should remember them , not just on Memorial Day but every day.

“It doesn’t matter what your politics are, it doesn’t matter what your religion is or any of those things,” he said. “If you’re an American, you’re proud to have those guys out there and they sacrifice quite a bit; they sacrifice everything. We just need to vocalize that as much as possible.”

Brantley Gilbert echoes Tim’s sentiment. He has family members who serve and at one point, even considered enlisting himself. He recently returned from his first USO Tour and makes it a point to show support to our military at every opportunity.

“It definitely means a lot to me, not just because my family’s involved in it, because of what our military stands for,” he said. “Support for the troops is definitely right up there on top of our priority list.”

Eli Young Band travels the country to make a living. As they follow their dreams, they keep the men and women in the military in mind. They are who make it possible for the band to make music.

“There are a lot of men and women out there that give their lives in such a huge way,” Mike Eli said. “I know for the four of us, we get to play music for a living and we get to live this incredible life because those men and those women that have sacrificed so much for us, and their families have sacrificed so much for us.”

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Darius Rucker photo by Jim Wright courtesy of Essential Broadcast Media.

By Kip Kirby

© 2013 CMA Close Up® News Service / Country Music Association®, Inc.

Darius Rucker wasn’t expecting interruptions during his Grand Ole Opry set on the night of Oct. 2.

He was nearly through with his performance, playing songs from his upcoming third album True Believers and enjoying the response from the sellout house. Then, Opry VP/GM Pete Fisher stood up in the audience, stopping the show and inviting Rucker to answer questions from fans. When the final audience member took the microphone, there was an audible gasp as Rucker realized it was none other than Brad Paisley. Nothing could have prepared him for what came next: Paisley’s invitation for his good friend to become the newest member of the Grand Ole Opry.

Read our album review of True Believers >>

That moment, and the audience’s joyous reaction, underscored the Country community’s embrace of Rucker as one of its own. His journey toward this achievement began years ago back in his home state of South Carolina, long before the singer had become a household name as front man for Hootie & The Blowfish. Growing up, Rucker listened to all kinds of music: “Hee Haw” with his mother on Saturday nights, church music on Sunday mornings, big band swing standards, beach music, R&B, rock ‘n’ roll. Rucker’s musical explorations took him into all kinds of genres, and he sang along enthusiastically to them all. It never occurred to him to limit himself to one particular style or format.

“Ever since I was a kid, I was always baffled by the different labels for music because it seemed to be the same notes and the same words,” said Rucker. “I sang everything I heard and let the music take me wherever I wanted to go. I just thought all singers could sing everything. Later on, I realized they can’t.”

Rucker’s vocal versatility extends beyond the ranges of pop, rock and Nashville. In 1995, he received a personal invitation to sing at Frank Sinatra’s celebrity-studded 80^th birthday gala in Los Angeles, where he performed “The Lady Is a Tramp.”

“That was one of the great days of my life! They sent us this great arrangement of ‘The Lady Is a Tramp’ that sounded exactly like ‘I Only Want to Be with You,’” Rucker said, referring to the hit single by Hootie & The Blowfish. “So we started in, but then I said, ‘I don’t want to play it like that. I want to do it exactly like Sinatra did it live at The Sands in ’64. I want Quincy Jones’ arrangement of it. Can we get it?’ They said, ‘Sure.’ So we get there that night, we’re all in zoot suits and we do the Quincy Jones arrangement — and we just killed it. When we got finished playing, Mr. Sinatra stood up and made me come over and shake his hand. It was really a great, great moment.”

Rucker continues to appear as a regular featured guest with the Peter Graves Orchestra, performing big band standards at charity events around the country. Graves admits that in the beginning he was hesitant about bringing in the lead singer for Hootie & The Blowfish to sing American songbook classics. But prior to their first show together, Rucker flew in several days early to rehearse. It didn’t take long for the orchestra leader to change his mind.

“Like everyone else, my jaw hit the floor,” Graves said, whose orchestra was Sinatra’s hand-picked ensemble for 20 years on shows throughout the Southeast. “He doesn’t try to mimic Frank (Sinatra). He’s still Darius, but he does the music justice. He did his homework and he came prepared. I see people all the time trying to work outside their genre and it doesn’t work. Darius is one of the rare ones who can make the programming switch inside his own head. For me, one of the biggest things is his smoothness and the way he phrases. It’s such a distinctive voice. It brings a lot of uniqueness to what he does.”

Frank Rogers has been Rucker’s producer and frequent co-writer since the singer signed with Capitol Records in 2008. “I’ve worked with him on rock tracks for commercials,” he said. “And I’ve seen him do his Sinatra thing. The other day, we did an R&B thing for a rap artist who wanted Darius to do the hook to the song. He’s just a great storyteller and conveyor of emotion in music.”

Rogers is quick to add that in his opinion, few artists should expect to pull off what Rucker does. The producer’s phone rings constantly with calls from what he refers to as “other-genre’d artists” who want to make the jump into country music. “I tell them all ‘no’, because it doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “With Darius, the honesty is there. Yes, he was a big rock star, but he comes across as a country boy from South Carolina because that’s who he is at heart. He grew up with country music at the same time he grew up with beach music and R&B and rock. He’s had a lot of influences, but when he sings a country song, it’s honest. He doesn’t have to pretend that he’s got a twang. He sings in his natural voice. You put a rock band behind it, it’s still Darius singing. You listen to an early Hootie record, it doesn’t sound any different than what we’re doing now in terms of his singing or pronunciation. He always sounds like him — and it works.”

Rucker’s love of country music runs deep. It also skews toward the unpredictable, the unexpected and sometimes even under the radar. “Don’t get me wrong,” he insisted. “I love Dwight (Yoakam). And Lyle Lovett is somebody I never give enough credit to. But I’ll never forget flipping channels before work at the record store one day and seeing the video for ‘Crazy Over You’ by Foster & Lloyd for the first time. I’ll never forget how blown away I was. And when I heard ‘Mary and Omie’ by Nanci Griffith, from Once in a Very Blue Moon, it began another avalanche of music for me. I thought these guys were big stars. I didn’t know they weren’t.”

It’s no secret that while on tour with Hootie & The Blowfish, Rucker loved to slip Foster & Lloyd and New Grass Revival CDs onto the bus sound system. He also told his bandmates on more than one occasion, “Someday I’m going to make a country album.” So when Hootie decided to take a break, Rucker did what he had long hoped to do. His plan was to simply lay down some tracks at a studio in his hometown of Charleston. Never did he anticipate being offered a major label country deal, figuring that his rock reputation might make acceptance from fans and country radio an uphill climb.

“But I was never afraid of hard work,” Rucker explained. “Mike Dungan, who signed me to Capitol, told me he called the 13 most important people he thought were tastemakers in Nashville and told them he was signing me. Twelve of them told him he was crazy. But Capitol let me make the record I wanted to make, and then they asked me to go to work. All of a sudden, ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It’ (written by Clay Mills and Rucker) comes in and it’s on country radio. I’m on the radio again — only it’s country!”

Ask Rucker if he makes any concessions when singing country music, or if he changes his approach at all when shifting to Sinatra standards or Hootie hits, and he shakes his head. “Are there any differences stylistically? I’m sure there are,” he acknowledged. “But it’s not something I can really say because it’s here inside. The thing for me is, I love it all and I can do it all. When you know you can do it, you just go out and sing it.”

As for artists in other genres who might be interested in following Rucker’s footsteps into the country spotlight, his advice is blunt: “If you’re not a country fan, don’t come here to make a buck, because they’re gonna see right through you.”

On Rucker’s new album, True Believers, he wrote or co-wrote all but two of its songs, including the title cut, which is also the first single. Additionally, he’ll be headlining his own tour for the first time in 2013. With a string of No. 1 singles, award nominations and soaring album sales, Rucker has undoubtedly brought a new range of fans into the country format — which is where Rucker intends to stay.

“There’s no offer in rock that could financially, spiritually or emotionally make me happy or put me where I am right now,” he said. “It takes years and years to get to the point where you feel you’re actually getting it. I don’t want to be a big pop star. I just want to sing country music.”

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Blake Shelton’s 2013 album, Based On A True Story… Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Records.

Following the announcement of his benefit concert for the victims of the Moore, Oklahoma tornado, Blake Shelton and his fans helped raise $50,000 just by sharing a link on Facebook. For every share of the jcp cares post, JC Penney donated $1 up to $50,000 to the American Red Cross Disaster Giving Program. In under 10 minutes, the post had already raised more than $10,000.

“My thoughts and prayers are with the people of my home state of Oklahoma,” Blake wrote. “Please share this post within the next 24 hours, and my friends at jcpenney will donate $1 to the American Red Cross for each share – up to $50,000!”

The post quickly reached the donation cap but fans can still offer their support by clicking HERE.

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