Category Archives: Darius Rucker

As the frontman of Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker changed the face of mainstream pop/rock in the mid-’90s. songs like “Hold My Hand” and “Only Wanna Be with You” peppered Hootie & the Blowfish’s popular debut, which eventually sold over 16 million units and became one of the most successful copies of all time. Hootie & the Blowfish never revisited that meteoric success again, however, and the lineup took a break from recording after the release of Musical Chairs in 1998. Rucker used his free time wisely and launched a solo career, which allowed the vocalist to explore his rhythm & blues and country influences.

Born and raised in Charleston, SC, Rucker was exposed to the sounds of Otis Redding, Al Green, and Gladys Knight at an early age. Those rhythm & blues icons helped reputation Hootie & the Blowfish’s recordings, all of which emphasized Rucker’s soulful baritone, but it wasn’t until the singer’s solo career that he truly paid homage to the sounds of his youth. Rucker planned to jump-start his solo career with The Return of Mongo Slade, which was slated for a summer 2001 release by Atlantic Records, but contractual changes prevented the album’s release. A few months later, Rucker jumped ship for Hidden Beach Recordings, which then earned the master recordings of his debut from Atlantic.

After making a cameo in the Farrelly brothers’ movie Shallow Hal, Rucker connected his mellow, R&B-influenced style with 2002’s Back to Then, which featured collaborations with Jill Scott and Snoop Dogg. Rucker then came back his attention to Hootie & the Blowfish, releasing two units with the ensemble while the early 2000s, before revisiting his solo career. This time, he opted for a country approach, and the twangy Learn to Live found an appropriate home among country music fans (who sent both the record and its flagship single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” to the top of the Billboard country charts).

Darius Rucker Wagon Wheel-New Single

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Darius Rucker Releases “Wagon Wheel” As His New Single.” Darius Rucker has released “Wagon Wheel” as his new single. The song is the follow up to “True Believers” and will be on his upcoming album, True Believers. Now this song is not new by any means…It was started by Bob Dylan and then later finished by Old Crow Medicine show. The song has become a huge hit, with practically everyone knowing the lyrics and everyone covering it. Including Rucker. Now I love a cover, but in this case I have to say I’d prefer the original. Number 1, I feel like the song isn’t old enough and way too popular for someone to already be releasing it again. Like I said, I love a cover. If Rucker played it at show, just for fun, I’d probably go crazy singing along. I’d even think wow, he’s really cool for singing that. But I also thought it was cool each time I heard numerous different people play it sitting around the fire having a few drinks… Now this is just my opinion and we want to know what YOU think! So, comment below with your thoughts on this matter.

Darius Rucker True Believers Video

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The Official Music Video For Darius Rucker’s “True Believers.” Darius Rucker’s latest single, “True Believers,” is a powerful one! It will be on his new album that is set for early 2013! Like I said, the song is a powerful one and the video really conveys that! I also really love how Rucker always is into his performance! Whether it is on a stage or in a video, he really gets with it when he sings! I love it! Y’all watch the video for “True Believers” below and tell us what you think!

Opry Inducts Darius Rucker

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Grand Ole Opry Inducts Latest Member, Darius Rucker. On October 16, Darius Rucker received his Opry Member Award, becoming the newest member of the country family. His actual family joined him backstage to add his plaque to the Opry Member Gallery at the Grand Ole Opry House. Vince Gill presented the Opry Member Award by thanking Darius: “I don’t think there’s a more beloved guy in our music than you. Before you even open your mouth and sing a song you’ve written, everybody is really crazy about you. You will find this place right here to be one of the greatest homes you’ll ever have. … Thanks for wanting to be a country music singer!” Darius thanked Vince, his family, and his fans as he gratefully accepted the honor. One of his favorite singers, Keith Urban, sent a video congratulations, but then joined Darius on the stage to personally congratulate him. They were also joined by Football Hall of Famer Dan Marino. I became a fan of the soulful, distinct Rucker voice as a fan of Hootie and the Blowfish, but I fell in love with that voice the first time I heard “All I Want.” One listen to either of his albums (Learn to Live and Charleston, SC 1966), and you’ll quickly realize why he deserves this award. Congratulations, Darius! To watch Rucker’s induction, head on over to opry.com/pressroom/darius WATCH the Official Music Video for “Alright,” a Favorite Rucker Hit:

Darius Rucker’s “Darius and Friends” Line-Up

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Darius Rucker Announces Line-Up For “Darius and Friends” Benefit! Darius Rucker is hosting his benefit “Darius and Friends” for the third year in a row, and a line-up has been announced! The benefit includes a celebrity concert, and the performers for this year include Rodney Atkins, Clint Black, Sunny Sweeney and Chuck Wicks. Rucker has also let slip that there will be “special surprise guests” as well! The benefit supports the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and it will take place on Monday, June 4th at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon, right as CMA Fest Week is kicking off! “It’s extremely important to me to grow our annual benefit for St. Jude, as I pledged to help each year with their fund-raising efforts. CMA Music Fest is a great time to host the event because we reach so many of our core fans and St. Jude supporters.” -Darius Rucker Tickets are currently available. The doors open at 6:00pm with the show beginning at 7:30pm. There will also be additional merchandise for sale include event posters and t-shirts whose funds will also be contributed to St. Jude.

CMT Artists Of The Year

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CMT Reveals Their Artists Of The Year. CMT will honor Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift and Brad Paisley as the top artists of the year. CMT Artists Of The Year will premier December 13 at 9:00pm ET/PT and will last 90 minutes. The honorees were chosen by ranking them based on the following criteria: sales (physical albums, digital albums and single downloads); country radio airplay based on spins; concert grosses as a headliner or co-headliner; and activity on cmt.com (video streams, searches, and artist page views). The rankings were then compiled to identify the leading performers across the four categories cumulatively. Congratulations to the 5 acts that will be celebrated in early December! Here is a video of Darius Rucker and Adele singing “Need You Now“, Lady Antebellum’s #1 hit at 2010’s CMT Artists Of The Year ceremony. Antebellum were 2010 winners as well as Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and the Zac Brown Band. Tags: Need You Now (with Adele) – Artists of the Year, Darius Rucker, Darius Rucker Videos

Darius Rucker I Got Nothin’ Video

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Darius Rucker’s Current Single I Got Nothin’ Music Video! Darius Rucker’s current single “I Got Nothin’” is currently #20 on Billboard’s Top 100 country charts! The emotional song is off of his sophomore album, Charleston, SC 1966, and was released earlier this summer. I find this song getting stuck in my head daily! It is a story of a difficult relationship, and for some reason I can’t help but love it. It could be his great voice or the awesome music it is set to, but something about this song pulls me in! Take a gander at Rucker’s always passionate performance in the video here!

Darius Rucker Begins First Solo Tour

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Darius Rucker Begins His First Solo U.S. Tour This Fall. Darius Rucker is currently touring the European leg of Brad Paisley‘s H2O II: Wetter and Wilder Tour. As soon as he gets back to the states though, he will be beginning his first headlining tour of the U.S.! Rucker will be joined by Rodney Atkins, Thompson Square, Frankie Ballard and Justin Moore on select dates of his tour. This is an exciting development for Rucker, and he is definitely excited! “I haven’t headlined a tour since Hootie, so to say I’m excited is an understatement. It has been such an incredible experience to tour with Paisley and Rascal Flatts, and I’ve learned a lot being on the road with them. With this tour, I’m just excited to perform again for our fans, and I’m thrilled to have Rodney, Frankie, Justin, and Thompson Square joining us.” -Darius Rucker You can check out the list of upcoming tour dates below. A complete list will be available as soon as the remaining dates are announced. Upcoming tour dates are as follows: 10/6 Glens Falls, NY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/7 Indiana, PA w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/8 Syracuse, NY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/20 Charlotte, NC w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/21 Raleigh, NC w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/22 Cincinnati, OH w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 10/23 Pikeville, KY w/ Rodney Atkins and Frankie Ballard 11/12 North Charleston, SC w/ Thompson Square and Justin Moore

Darius Rucker’s Darius and Friends Announced

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Darius Rucker Announces All-Star Line-up for Darius and Friends Concert. Darius Rucker has announced several of his fellow country music stars will be joining him on stage for the 2nd Annual benefit concert “Darius and Friends“. This line-up includes Justin Moore, Easton Corbin, Jerrod Niemann, and Rodney Atkins. “Darius and Friends” will be taking place Monday, June 6th, and just like last year, will be hosted at the Wildhorse Saloon in downtown Nashville. “The first event was so great that we wanted to keep that same theme for this year: artists coming together for a great cause.” -Darius Rucker All proceeds from the evening will go to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to aid in this institutions ongoing quest to find cures and help children who are fighting deadly diseases.

Country Stars Honor Former President

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McEntire, Brooks, Paisley, Underwood and Others Perform to Honor Former President George H. W. Bush In an upcoming celebration, some of Country Music’s brightest stars are set to perform including Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks,Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker and Carrie Underwood. The event will also include other stars like Sheryl Crow, and Kid Rock, with more performances to be announced later. The event has been organized by The Points of Light Institute to honor the leadership of former President George H. W. Bush in the American service movement, and to highlight the role voluntary service plays in the betterment of our families and communities nationwide. Former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush are scheduled to attend as well as President Barack Obama, bringing five of America’s presidents together in the same venue for the first time since President Obama’s inauguration in 2008. The celebration will be taped live on March 21st at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington D.C., and will air Monday, March 28th on NBC. Text COUNTRY to 22828 to be eligible for exclusive text subscriber giveaways from CountryMusicNewsBlog.com!

Darius Rucker: Charleston, SC 1966

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Darius Rucker is ready for the release of his new album, Charleston SC 1966 which hits store shelves next Tuesday. Darius Rucker is holding onto a steady and solid career in country music, and he’s giving credit where credit is due. The new album, titled “Charleston, SC 1966” is his personal tribute to legendary artist Radney Foster. The album’s first single “Comeback Song” is already climbing the charts. You can wait till release day to pick up your copy or pre-order the album through iTunes or Amazon. We here at CMNB want to know what you think of the new material.Country Music Photo Gallery