Catching Up With Darius Rucker

Hootie & the Blowfish’s sophomore set, Fairweather Johnson, arrived in 1996. While it certainly sold respectably, it did not approach the commercial heights of Cracked Rear View. And subsequent albums sold even less. By the turn of the millennium, though the band solidered on, many people had forgotten about Hootie & the Blowfish, largely due to changing trends. 

In 2002, Rucker released his solo debut, Back to Then. Unlike a Hootie & the Blowfish album, this disc leaned more toward soul. Rucker even dueted with Jill Scott on the song “Sometimes I Wonder.” But surprisingly, the album passed nearly unnoticed among both Hootie fans and soul aficionados.

Rucker’s second solo effort. Learn to Liv,e was released last fall, some six years after Back to Then. Unlike that release, Learn to Live is an out-and-out country album. Rucker released it on Capitol Records Nashville, collaborated with some of that town’s best-known writers and scored cameos from such country music heavyweights as Brad Paisley and Vince Gill. Also unlike Back to Then, Learn to Live is an unqualified success. The album’s first single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” hit number-one on the country charts, making Rucker the first African-American artist to pull this off since Charley Pride in 1983. Likewise, the album itself and the second single, “It Won’t Be Like This for Long,” have both topped the country charts.

It’s ironic that Rucker has had more success in traditionally “white” musical genres – especially now with country – than he did when he released a soul album. But then, he’s always been something of an anomaly, if a reluctant one. I recently caught up with Rucker when he called me from an airport during one his rare “free” moments. He struck me as a down-to-earth guy who would rather talk about how talented Radney Foster is than about race. But whether he’s done it consciously or not, Darius Rucker has brought people of different worlds a little bit closer together. Here are some excerpts from our conversation.

You’re having a lot of success right now in the country world.  When did the idea to record a country album first hit you? Was it recently or was it awhile back?

Years ago! Probably in the late ‘80s. I guess I started talking about it in the late ‘80s and, you know, it was just – I was into the music. We listened to a lot of it, I was really into Foster & Lloyd at the time. And I just wanted to make a country record. 

So in a sense, this [album] was 20 years in the making?

Yeah, in a sense. It just felt like – I don’t know. It was something that I always talked about and just never did ‘cause we were always doing something else. And you know, it was time, I guess. 

You recently became the first black artist to hit number-one on the country singles chart since Charley Pride, which was in ’83. I’m curious to get your thoughts on that.

When [“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”] started getting into the Top 20 is when people started talking about that. You know, I never thought about it and if I had thought about it, I would have thought probably Trini Triggs or Cleve Francis, or one of those guys had a Top 20 at least! At first, it was just surprising and then, you know, you gotta feel good about it because you want success. 

People always ask me, ‘Is this gonna open doors for other African-American artists?’ I hope so. But, you know, I’m still trying to open the door for me. 

A few minutes ago, you mentioned Foster & Lloyd. In a couple of the interviews I’ve read with you, you’ve cited Radney Foster as one of your influences. I actually am more familiar with Bill Lloyd of the two. And I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about Radney, his music and what it’s meant to you.

Oh, Radney’s straight Texas country music. (laughs) You know, he writes amazing melodies and his songs were always great, but it was his voice that really did it for me. He’s got this huge country voice. That was what made me wanna do a country record, was hearing Radney sing “Crazy Over You” and thinking to myself, “God, that guy sounds like me, I can sing that.” And then he kept delivering the songs with Foster and Lloyd and then Faster and Llouder, you know? And then they break up and he puts out Del Rio, Texas and he puts out Labor of Love. He kept delivering. 

It seems like [Foster & Lloyd] sometimes don’t get the credit they deserve.

Oh, not sometimes. I think all the time. The only place they get the credit they deserve is [from] the people who are in the business.

Who are some of the other musicians that influenced you when you were a kid?

New Grass Revival. You know, Sam Bush and Bela Fleck and those guys were really big for me. Dwight Yoakam. The first time I heard “Little Ways,” I was hooked. And Dwight and I have that thing where neither one of us has ever heard a shuffle we didn’t love, you know? 

Nanci Griffith was [also] massive for me. I remember walking into work when I was working retail and hearing [a song] and walking halfway to the store and stopping and turning all the way back around to see who this was singing. And it was Nanci Griffith. Ever since then, I’ve been totally crazy about her. 

One song [from Learn to Live] that I wanted to ask you about specifically was “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” In addition to being one of the singles, it’s one that grabbed me because it has a really sweet sentiment to it that reminded me almost of “Cats in the Cradle” [by Harry Chapin]. 

Oh yeah, cool! I’ll take [that]. 

What was the impetus for that song?

My kids. Me and the guys I was on the road with, we were just sitting around talking about kids and we all had kids, about the same [number] and we decided to write a lullaby and we wrote “It Won’t Be Like This for Long.” 

As far as the other guys from Hootie & the Blowfish, are you still in touch with them? Are there any plans [for another album?]

Oh yeah, we just played six gigs last month. We still have a bunch of charity stuff that [we’re involved in]… I’m sure there’s another Hootie & the Blowfish record on the horizon, but I don’t know when. I got a few more country records to make. 

This could be a coincidence, but the fact that you’re hitting number one now, 25 years after Charley Pride, within months of America electing Barack Obama – in terms of race and America, do you think the country is getting more open-minded in general? 

I think the younger generation is definitely a lot more open-minded than when I was young. You know, where I live is a lot more open-minded than when I was young and I guess that proves it, with Barack Obama being President. I would have told you pretty much until Election Day that it wasn’t gonna happen. 

-Dave Steinfeld