Darius Rucker's name is synonymous with one of top-selling bands of all time, and with a range that rivals top vocalists across all genres, it is no surprise that South Carolina native and frontman for Grammy award-winning pop group Hootie & The Blowfish is now changing the face of music once again with a debut country solo album on Capitol Records Nashville.
With co-writes from country industry leaders such as Rivers Rutherford, Frank Rogers , Dave Berg, Chris DuBois, and Clay Mills - with whom Rucker co-wrote the debut single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" - Rucker showcases his rich storytelling capabilities while maintaining a familiarity fans are sure to recognize.
Q &A with Darius:
"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" is the first single you've taken to country radio - what made THIS song the best way to introduce yourself to a country audience? I really would have been happy with pretty much any of the songs being the first single, but I told (producer) Frank Rogers after
we finished this song in the studio that this was going to be it . . . I think the feel, the tempo and the sentiment all had something to do with the decision -- and, everybody wants to think that there is someone out there thinking about them, don't they?!? I wrote "Don't Think I Don't Think About
It" with (songwriter) Clay Mills, who was one of the great guys I got to write with on this project; in fact, a few of the songs we wrote together made the record. You recording a country album might surprise some people . . . should it? No, I don't think it should surprise anyone. I love mus
ic and for years I've listened to country artists. I mean, I grew up in South Carolina in the 70's, you know. Some of my favorite memories of being a kid is sitting in front of an AM radio and flipping through stations. You would hear a Stevie Wonder song or something, then hear a commercial so y
ou'd turn the dial . . . hear a Kiss song, hit another commercial so you'd turn the dial again . . . and then Buck Owens jumps out at you. His guitar has no bass and the high notes are higher than any thing you think you have ever heard - I didn't know who it was, but I listened to the DJ to find o
ut. I just had to know. I grew up with a mom that let me listen to whatever I wanted to, and a grandmother that loved country music, so it's just naturally part of my background. It might sound funny now, but Hee Haw was a religion for me. Every country artist that existed was on Hee Haw, and I sa
w 'em all. So, you wouldn't say that this is a big departure for you? Not at all. I believe what we do with Hootie is not that far off from a lot of country music -- I mean, when we first started out, I begged the guys in Hootie to be a country band, and I just got outvoted! And I have always
written country songs - in fact, a big joke in the band is that I write these country songs that they have to make rock. So for me, this is really just part of the natural evolution of my career -- inevitable, really. You have a pretty distinctive voice - what country artists would you describe as
"distinctive," either as a vocalist or a songwriter? There are so many singers in country that have their "thing" that is just them . . . We can start with Dwight. I love Dwight Yoakam. Nobody sounds like Dwight, nobody dances like Dwight - and we both love a shuffle. I think my biggest country
influence is someone with an amazing voice, Radney Foster. The first time I heard Foster & Lloyd's "Crazy Over You" on TV, I went into the record store where I worked early so that I could open the album and hear it -- and I never went to work early. His Del Rio Texas 1959 album is one of the 10 best albums I have ever heard. As for other artists . . . well, Nanci Griffith is unbelievable. Patsy Cline, New Grass Revival, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett, David Allen Coe, Hank Sr - these are all people that I have listened to for years, and with all of them, you recognize their voice the second you hear it. Oh yeah -- don't want to leave out Hank Jr.! One of my goals is to record "Family Tradition" -- I think that would be perfect for me.
You know, I've been in that little twangy rock cocoon for a while . . . But now I get to come out and sing these songs. I plan to be doing this for a long time. This isn't a one album deal -- it's a career thing. Actually, I would like to have fun with this record and then get right back in the
studio and start the next! I love working in Nashville.

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