Darius Rucker, the former Hootie & The Blowfish frontman scheduled to hit The Paramount Theater on March 19, always wanted to make a country record. The problem was finding a way to release it.
"Even at the end of the last couple of records with Hootie, I mentioned, ‘Hey, guys, let’s do a country thing,’" said Rucker. "They didn’t want to, that was cool. But this was totally the plan."
"When Capitol signed me, it shocked me," he continued. "I didn’t think I could get a record deal."
For the former Hoot with the golden holler, the success of his country album, Learn to Live, brought a few more surprises. More after the photo.
On the country community’s reaction to Learn to Live:
Rucker said that recent tourmate Brad Paisley "has always been a champion" of his music, and "that happens in country music a lot. When your record comes out or something good happens in country music, you get a text from Brad or from Dierks [Bentley, another recent tourmate].
"Dierks sent me a text the other day about how his wife can’t stop crying every time she hears ‘It Won’t Be Like This For Long.‘"
On the versatility of his voice:
"I never took any vocal lessons. My [voice] comes from being four years old and singing with Al Green records. When I was a kid, Al Green was the man to me…it was me and my little salt- and pepper-shaker microphones and Al Green.
"I got a little older and it was anything on the AM radio. I think that’s why today I can get up and sing REM songs, or I can get up and sing with my country band…[W]hen I sat in front of the AM radio, I sang along with everybody."
On cheering for the basketball team of his alma mater, the University of South Carolina, from the road:
"’Back-to-back NIT champions’ isn’t something you really want to say. That was our claim to fame for years. It’s good to be back in the [SEC] tournament now.
"It’s not a request: If the game comes on TV and you don’t like it, you can go someplace else."
