Big and Rich have a new single out called "Run Away With You," and they co-wrote it with one of country music's hottest young stars.

The duo worked with "Kiss You in the Morning" singer Michael Ray on the track, two years before he scored that breakthrough No. 1 hit. "We've known him a while ... great guy," John Rich says during a recent visit to the Taste of Country Nights studio. "Any time we're on the road together, we try to get him up onstage to sing 'Run Away With You' together."

It turns out that both Big and Rich and Ray recorded the song. "We just kinda had a deal -- whoever gets to it first, puts it out ... we were cool no matter who put it out," he adds. "Kenny and I felt like Big and Rich fans would dig the message of that song, and sure enough, they are."

Rich smashes a guitar at the end of the video for the song, but he's not following in the footsteps of Pete Townshend.

"Any time you ever see me break a guitar onstage, those guitars are guitars that were gonna be destroyed anyway, because they're all warped out and you can't play them," he says. "I would never break a great guitar. But it's kinda fun to light one on fire and smash it."

"When you break that guitar, you get all these little fragments and pieces that everyone wants a piece of, and they all want one signed," Big Kenny adds. "They get to hang a piece of a broken Big and Rich guitar on the family room wall. I think a lot of them are more excited to get one half-smashed than one that plays."

"You've got to be careful, though," Rich cautions. "When you pour the Bacardi 151 on the guitar and you're lighting it ... I've had some close calls."

Sam Alex is the host of Taste of Country Nights radio, a syndicated night show which airs on more than 60 Townsquare Media Group stations nationwide.

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