Darius Rucker has always fearlessly followed his own musical muse while cultivating a huge following of people drawn to his uniquely seductive delivery. He makes it seem effortless, until you step back and take in the magnitude of the music and the far-reaching, lasting impact of songs that have become part of popular culture.
And he is doing it again with his fifth studio release on Capitol Records Nashville, When Was The Last Time, and the juggernaut current single “For the First Time.”
Rucker has appeared on “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Today Show,” and “The View” in support of his fifth studio album for Capitol Nashville. Friday he will appear on “The Chew” (10/27) followed by appearances on “Harry” (11/1), “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” and more announced soon.
Rucker launched When Was The Last Time with two sold-out shows that speak to the heart of who he is as an artist – making history at the famed Apollo Theater and a stadium-sized hometown, throw down in Charleston, S.C. at Volvo Car Stadium.
He followed the shows with the appearances on the “Today Show” and “The View,” where he performed “For The First Time,” which is the second single from the new album. The song, which was co-written by Rucker with Derek George and Travis Hill, is already a Top 40 with a video premiere on People.com. First single from the project, “If I Told You,” garnered Rucker his eighth No. 1 Country single.
During his table talk with the ladies on “The View,” Whoopi Goldberg – echoing the chorus of the current song – asked the three-time GRAMMY winner what else he wants to do “for the first time?”
Rucker’s response that he wants to sing a hook on a big rap song shouldn’t come as a surprise for an artist who has made a Platinum-selling career out of defying expectations and genre boundaries. A quality that didn’t escape the attention of The New Yorker, which observed, “he has insisted on a path of his own.”
The album’s swift rise to the top of the iTunes Country charts indicates success will continue to build along with critical attention. USA Today wrote: “Rucker is seriously underrated singer. Blessed with a rugged but warm timbre, he has a rare ability to invite listeners into a song rather than keep them at a distance through extraneous, show-offy display”; and The New Yorker continued, “Rucker’s voice is extraordinary: rich, round, and full of nuance.”
For more information about new music, appearances, and tour dates, please visit www.dariusrucker.com.
When Was The Last Time is available now.
1. For The First Time
2. Bring It On
3. Life’s Too Short
4. If I Told You
5. Don’t
6. Twenty Something
7. Straight To Hell (feat. Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan & Charles Kelley)
8. Count The Beers
9. Another Night With You
10. Hands On Me
11. She
12. Story To Tell
About Darius Rucker
Rucker first attained multi-Platinum status in the music industry as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of GRAMMY award-winning Hootie & the Blowfish. Since releasing his first country album in 2008, he has celebrated four summits to the top of the Billboard Country albums chart and earned a whole new legion of fans. In 2014, Rucker won his third career GRAMMY award for Best Solo Country Performance for his 4x Platinum selling cover of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” off his album, True Believers. Rucker’s first two country albums, Learn To Live and Charleston, SC 1966 produced five No. 1 singles including “Come Back Song,” “This,” “Alright,” “It Won’t Be Like This For Long,” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It.” Southern Style, his fourth studio country album, features his seventh No. 1 single “Homegrown Honey,” co-written by Rucker, label mate Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, and Nathan Chapman. Rucker’s last single, “If I Told You,” is his eighth No. 1 on country radio and the first cut from When Was The Last Time, his newest album on Capitol Records Nashville released on Oct. 20, 2017.
