DARIUS RUCKER Says He Is 'Really Proud' Of His Cover Version Of MÖTLEY CRÜE's 'Time For Change'

"Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe" is in stores today (Tuesday, August 19). The project features covers of 15 MÖTLEY CRÜE hits dating back to the early '80s by such country stars as FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, Justin Moore, Brantley Gilbert, LeAnn Rimes and HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH frontman Darius Rucker.

Darius recorded "Time For Change", a more obscure MÖTLEY CRÜE song. He tells The Pulse Of Radio he was happy to be asked to be part of the compilation honoring one of his favorite rock bands. "I can't believe that people ask me to do stuff like that," he said. "I mean, when you're doing a MÖTLEY CRÜE tribute record, you could ask anybody in country music to do it, and they're not gonna say no. And when I was asked, I was really happy and surprised. And then they asked me if I would do 'Time For Change', and I'll never forget listening to it with Frank Rogers and going, 'Whoa, you can't sing like that, bro,' [laughs] and I was like, 'I know I can't sing like that' and so we approached it… we said we're gonna start this record like we've never heard the song before. And so we went… you know, we pretended we didn't know it and just went down to the basics and came up with something that I'm really proud of."

The first single from "Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe" is Justin Moore's version of "Home Sweet Home" featuring Vince Neil.

"Nashville Outlaws: A Tribute To Mötley Crüe" track listing:

01. RASCAL FLATTS - "Kickstart My Heart"
02. FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE - "If I Die Tomorrow"
03. LEANN RIMES - "Smokin' In The Boys Room"
04. JUSTIN MOORE - "Home Sweet Home"
05. CASSADDE POPE WITH ROBIN ZANDER - "The Animal In Me"
06. AARON LEWIS - "Afraid"
07. BIG & RICH - "SOS"
08. SAM PALLADIO AND CLARE BOWEN - "Without You"
09. ELI YOUNG BAND - "Don't Go Away Mad"
10. LAUREN JENKINS - "Looks That Kill"
11. THE CADILLAC THREE - "Live Wire"
12. THE MAVERICKS - "Dr. Feelgood"
13. BRANTLEY GILBERT - "Girls, Girls, Girls"
14. GRETCHEN WILSON - "Wild Side"
15. DARIUS RUCKER - "Time For Change"

"We did not make this record for MÖTLEY CRÜE fans, but for country fans who are also rock fans," said MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx. "I believe that there's going to be a lot of synergy and excitement for MÖTLEY CRÜE fans hearing different artists covering their favorite songs. People will be surprised how these artists made the songs their own and we couldn't be happier with how the album turned out. It's been an amazing, positive experience and, as a lot of things we've done, a first in our career."

"It has been a blast becoming friends with the MÖTLEY guys and learning how much they appreciate the history of country music," said Justin Moore. "They are truly one of the most disruptive bands of their generation and I am honored to be able to cover one of my favorite CRÜE songs of all time, 'Home Sweet Home'. It has been pretty unreal singing with Vince Neil."

The record is a joint venture between Big Machine Records — home to country superstars such as Taylor Swift and Tim McGraw — and Mötley Records and Eleven Seven Music. Big Machine label group president and CEO, Scott Borchetta, is among the legion of country music fans who love MÖTLEY CRÜE. Borchetta said of the collaboration, "I have been a not-so-secret CRÜE fan from the beginning. When manager Chris Nilsson called with the idea for a tribute album on Big Machine Records, it was an immediate 'yes' from me! Our album will highlight just how great the MÖTLEY CRÜE song catalog is. At the end of the day, that's what will stand the test of time."

"I thought the idea for the tribute album was cool until I started talking to everybody," MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil told Billboard.com. "Then I thought it was cooler and cooler and cooler!"

Neil recently admitted to The Tennessean that when he was first approached by management about the country-music tribute, he wasn't immediately sure it was a good idea.

"I was like, 'Eh, I don't know. Let me think about this one for a minute,'" he told The Tennessean. "The more I thought about it, the cooler it got, especially after Carrie Underwood did 'Home Sweet Home', and that was so good. I'm thinking to myself, 'How cool would it be to hear these other acts' renditions of the songs?'"

Until the country-music-tribute idea first came up, Neil hadn't heard of many of the artists who will appear on the set. "It's fun, because my girlfriend is a country girl," Neil said. "She's a barrel rider in the rodeo. When I showed her the names, she was like, 'Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.' I'm like, 'Tell me, tell me. Fill me in.'"

He added: "I'm an old classic rock and roll guy. The really cool thing is I think a lot of people have heard of the name MÖTLEY CRÜE, but don't put the music to the face. I think it's going to bring a lot of fans that aren't MÖTLEY fans in. It will make them go, 'Oh yeah, I've heard that song before.'"

Video for Justin Moore's version of "Home Sweet Home":

Making of video for Justin Moore's version of "Home Sweet Home":

Neil and Sixx talking about Justin Moore's version of "Home Sweet Home":

Neil and Sixx talking about CASSADDE POPE' version of "The Animal In Me":

Neil and Sixx talking about ELI YOUNG BAND' version of "Don't Go Away Mad":

Neil and Sixx talking about THE MAVERICKS' version of "Dr. Feelgood":

Neil and Sixx talking about Brantley Gilbert's version of "Girls, Girls, Girls":