Darius Rucker on Country Music, His Favorite Hootie Memory and His Mother’s Legacy

Darius Rucker has manifested two separate impactful music careers. While most people can’t muster one rise to stardom, Rucker boasts two. In the 1990s, his South Carolina-born rock group Hootie & the Blowfish released one of the most successful albums of all time, Cracked Rear View, which sold more than 21 million copies.

Later, in 2008, Rucker switched genres and began playing country music, taking advantage of his smooth voice and magnetism. While it’s no easy matter for a Black artist to break into the genre, Rucker did so with flying colors, earning No. 1 songs aplenty. Now, he’s acting as a mentor to many of the artists who followed his footsteps into the country genre.

Today (October 6), Rucker has released his latest solo album, the storytelling-rich country LP, Carolyn’s Boy, the title of which is inspired by the memory of his mother, who passed away some three decades ago. Below, Rucker travels down memory lane, offering his favorite memories with Hootie, what it was like becoming a country artist, and what went into the new LP.