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Darius Rucker Wiki Information
Darius Rucker
(born May 13, 1966 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an American musician. He is known for his role as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, of which he has been a member since the band's inception in 1986.
Along with his work in Hootie & the Blowfish, Rucker has recorded two solo albums. The first, Back to Then
, was released in 2002 on Hidden Beach Recordings. An album of country music entitled Learn to Live
followed in 2008 on Capitol Records Nashville. Its first three singles — "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", "It Won't Be Like This for Long" and "Alright" — have all reached Number One on the U.S. country singles charts.
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Early life
Rucker was born and raised in Charleston, North Carolina, and his family history there goes back generations. [1] He was raised by a single mother and his five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. He said that he had a "typical Southern African-American upbringing." He attended church every Sunday, were economically poor and, at one point, his mom, her two sisters, his grandmother and 14 kids were living in a three-bed-room home. However, he says that he looks back on his childhood "with very fond memories." [ His sister, L'Corine, recalled that singing "was always his dream."][
]
Musical career
Rucker has been the lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish since its formation in 1986. He met fellow band members, Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber, while attending the University of South Carolina.[ As a member of Hootie & the Blowfish, he has recorded five studio albums: Cracked Rear View
, Fairweather Johnson
, Musical Chairs
, Hootie & the Blowfish
, and Looking for Lucky
. All five albums feature songs that Rucker, Bryan and Felber wrote. As the frontman, Rucker began to be called simply "Hootie", though the band title comes from the nicknames of characters in their college choir. [2] His signature contribution to the band was his barritone voice that Rolling Stone called "ingratiating," [3] and Entertainment Weekly characterized as a "barrellhouse growl." [4] He brought additional attention as the sole African-American member of band with white members. Rucker said they "flipped" the formula of the all black band with a white frontman a la Frank Sinatra performing with Count Basie.][ The other band members were protective of Rucker in regards to the issue, and had a policy of generally ignoring racists and their comments. [5]
]
Shortly after gaining a measure of fame, Felber and Rucker (who consider themselves best friends) moved into an apartment in Columbia, South Carolina.[
]
Rucker encouraged Altlantic Records to agree to a deal with Edwin McCain, and made a guest appearance on Honor Among Thieves
. [6]
Solo career
R&B career
In 2001, he made his solo R&B debut album The Return of Mongo Slade
for Atlantic Records. Because of contractual changes, it was never released by the label.
Rucker also portrayed a singing cowboy in a television commercial for the fast food chain Burger King, promoting their TenderCrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch sandwich in 2005. In the commercial, he sang a jingle set to the tune of "Big Rock Candy Mountain". [7]
Country music
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In early 2008, Rucker signed to Capitol Records Nashville as the beginning of a career in country music. His first solo single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (which he co-wrote with Clay Mills) debuted at #51 on the Billboard
Hot Country Songs charts for the week of May 3, 2008. It is the first single from his second album, Learn to Live
, which was produced by Frank Rogers. [8] Rucker also made his Grand Ole Opry debut in July 2008. [9] "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" reached Top 20 on the country charts in July 2008, making him the first African-American singer to reach Top 20 on the country charts since Charley Pride in 1988. [10] The single reached Number One in September, [11] making Rucker the first solo African American artist to chart a Number One country hit since Pride's "Night Games" in 1983. [12]
Learn to Live
was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in February 2009, [14] and on August 11, 2009 received a Platinum certification. Its lead single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It", gave Rucker his first chart-topping Country hit and was certified Gold. The album's next single, "It Won't Be Like This for Long", spent three weeks at the top of the country charts in mid-2009. Its follow-up, "Alright", became Rucker's third straight Number One hit, making him the first country music singer to have his or her first three singles reach Number One since Wynonna Judd did in 1992. [15]
Rucker's entry into the country world was met with some intrigue, which largely because of his history as a rock musician and because of his being an African American. Billboard magainze said that "There's a sense of purpose that makes Rucker feel like a member of the country family, rather than calculating interloper." [16] Rucker made visits to various country stations around the US in order to convey that he was aware that he was the "new kid on the block." [17] Mike Culotta, the program director of the Tampa, Florida radio station WQYK-FM expected that Rucker would be "somebody who would have entitlement," but instead said that "Darius engaged everybody." [18] When Rucker found that "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one, he cried. [19]
Discography
Albums
| Year
| Album details
| Peak chart positions | Certifications
(sales threshold)
|
| US Country
| US
| US
R&B
| US
Heat
| CAN Country
|
| 2002
| Back to Then
- Released: July 30, 2002
- Label: Hidden Beach
| —
| 127
| 43
| 1
| —
|
|
| 2008
| Learn to Live
- Released: September 16, 2008
- Label: Capitol Nashville
| 1
| 5
| —
| —
| 10
|
- US certification: Platinum [20]
- US sales: 885,459 [21]
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or weren't released.
|
su===Singles===
| Year
| Single
| Peak chart positions | RIAA | Album
|
| US Country
| US
| CAN Country
| CAN
|
| 2008
| "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
| 1
| 35
| 3
| 47
| Gold
| Learn to Live
|
| "It Won't Be Like This for Long"
| 1
| 36
| 1
| 59
| —
|
| 2009
| "Alright"
| 1
| 30
| 2
| 61
| —
|
| "History in the Making"[A
|
|
|
|
|
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
Other charted songs
| Year
| Single
| US Country
| Album
|
| 2009
| "Winter Wonderland"
| 49
| digital Christmas release
|
Music videos
All music videos were directed by Wayne Isham
| Year
| Video
|
| 2008
| "Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
|
| "Winter Wonderland"
|
| 2009
| "It Won't Be Like This for Long"
|
| "Alright"
|
Personal life
Rucker is a huge Miami Dolphins fan, and has a tattoo of their logo. [23] He also likes Stir Crazy
, which has seen more than 100 times.[
]
Rucker's mother died in 1992, and he took her death hard.[ His grief inspired the song "I'm Goin' Home."][ On April 21, 1995 Rucker became a father to a daughter, Carolyn Pearl Phillips. The girl's mother is Rucker's former girlfriend and the subject of "Let Her Cry."][
]
References
- Puterbaugh, Parke (June 15, 1995), "Fish out of water". ''Rolling Stone''. (710):74
- Cohen, Rich (August 10, 1995), "Southern comfort". ''Rolling Stone'' (714):42
- DeCurtis, Anthony; Wild, David (May 13, 1999), "Rock + roll". ''Rolling Stone'' (812):60
- Browne, David (April 26, 96), "`Fairweather' report". ''Entertainment Weekly'' (324):55
- Kennedy, Dana; Estrine, Darryl (July 28, 1995), "Hootie's revenge". ''Entertainment Weekly'' (285):32
- Mukherjee, Tiarra; Murphy, Maggie (April 19, 96), "Give a Hootie". ''Entertainment Weekly''. (323):10
- Yes, That's Hootie Crooning for Burger King
- Hootie's Darius Rucker going country and other doings
- Darius Rucker Basking in Country Success
- Rucker Proves That Sometimes, The Best Marketing Is No Marketing At All
- Caulfield, Keith. "Metallica Holds At No. 1, Ne-Yo Arrives In Second ". ''Billboard''. September 24 2008.
- Darius Rucker
- Tucker, Ken (May 10, 2008), "GENRE-BENDER". ''Billboard''. '''120''' (19):
- Is Darius Rucker Headed for Hootie-Like Fame Again?
- Chart Beat: Darius Rucker, Mariah Carey, Brad Paisley, Wilco
- Price, Deborah Evans (June 28, 2008), "Don't Think I Don't Think About It". ''Billboard''. '''120''' (26):
- Tucker, Ken (September 27, 2008), "New Kid On The Block". ''Billboard''. '''120''' (39):
- No byline (September 23, 2008), "Hootie's Rucker tops country chart". ''USA Today''.
- Greene, Andy (September 30, 2008), "Hootie and the Blowfish Singer Leads Country-Crossover Pack". ''Rolling Stone''. (1064)
- Darius Rucker's Country Album Goes Platinum
- Brad Paisley leasds country stars on charts
- Grein, Paul. "Rucker Crosses Country Music's Color Line". ''Yahoo! Music''. September 24 2008.
- Rucker, Darius (March 23, 1995), "Raves". ''Rolling Stone''. (704):40
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