Darius Rucker, who’s nominated for Single of the Year for “Wagon Wheel,” will perform during a tribute to Kenny Rogers on Wednesday night’s CMA Awards.  Jennifer Nettles and Rascal Flatts will also perform to honor The Gambler, who will receive the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.

Darius is thrilled to honor one of his idols. “I always thought that Kenny was the biggest star in the world. I mean, because he was everywhere. You know, I used to listen to so much radio, I’d just flip through the channels until I heard a song I liked,” he says. “You flip through and you hear a Kenny Rogers song and right after that would come a Buck Owens song. Then you’d flip to another channel where you’d hear a Kenny Rogers song and then right after that there’d be a Cheap Trick song. Radio, he was on pop stations, he was on rock stations. He was everywhere. I just thought Kenny was the ultimate.”

The 47th Annual CMA Awards air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 6th) at 8pm ET on ABC.

Darius Rucker (Kenny Rogers) OC: …ultimate. :20
“I always thought that Kenny was the biggest star in the world. I mean, because he was everywhere. You know, I used to listen to so much radio, I’d just flip through the channels until I heard a song I liked. You flip through and you hear a Kenny Rogers song and right after that would come a Buck Owens song. Then you’d flip to another channel where you’d hear a Kenny Rogers song and then right after that there’d be a Cheap Trick song. Radio, he was on pop stations, he was on rock stations. He was everywhere. I just thought Kenny was the ultimate.”