Hundreds of Music Row folks trooped to the RCA Label Group building Tuesday (Oct. 2), to toast the gold certification of Diamond Rio's newest album, One More Day. (A gold designation signifies that record stores have ordered 500,000 copies of the album.) The six-man group also reaped congratulations for its three Country Music Association award nominations. "One More Day" is up for both single and song of the year awards, while Diamond Rio are in the running for vocal group of the year.

Speaking to reporters before the party started, band members Marty Roe and Dana Williams reviewed their 11-year tenure at Arista Records (a division of RCA) and commented on the upsurge in interest in "One More Day" following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"What we strove for [when we signed to Arista]," Williams says, "was we wanted to be like Alabama -- to have their longevity. I look back now, and we're now where they were then."

"And we still want to be like them," Roe quipped.

Even before the attacks, Roe said, the make-the-most-of-life theme of "One More Day" had generated tremendous response from listeners. "Obviously, the song had lived its life out at country radio -- at least we thought it had. … But we continue to hear stories night after night, either at our shows or on our Web site, about how the song has helped people out." The wide application of that kind of helping out, Roe continued, whether in memorializing race car driver Dale Earnhardt or the terrorist victims "is the most bittersweet feeling I've felt in my life. … I never thought of the song applying to death but [rather] about the reassessment of your priorities. … It's more than a song. It's a philosophy of life."

Turning to their CMA nominations, Williams proclaimed, "First off, let me say that I want to win all three of them. Bad. … But I really want us to win the single of the year award for Michael D. Clute." Clute is the band's long-time friend, song-finder and co-producer, and a win for best single will earn him his own CMA trophy.