Darius Rucker

Darius Carlos Rucker was born on May 13, 1966, in Charleston, South Carolina, USA. Growing up alongside three brothers and two sisters, Rucker showed an early desire to dedicate his life to singing and in 1986, he joined the band Hootie & The Blowfish with his college friends Mark Bryan, Jim Sonefeld, and Dean Felber, recording six albums between 1994 and 2005. After a 10-year hiatus, Hootie & The Blowfish returned in 2019 with a new album and a tour alongside Barenaked Ladies, however in the meantime, Rucker had established himself as a solo artist. In 2002, he recorded his first album, Back To Then, which failed to chart higher than 127th on the American charts. However, in 2008, he got another opportunity with a major label, Capitol Records Nashville, which supported his ambition to pursue a career in country music. He recorded the single "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," co-written with Clay Mills, and it made a notable appearance on specialized charts, reaching number 51 as the first single from the album Learn To Live. The album not only reached number 5 on the Billboard chart but also topped the country specialized charts at Number 1. Over the following decade, he remained a consistent figure in American country music with albums like Charleston, SC 1966 in 2010 and True Believers in 2013, both of which reached Number 1 on the country charts and number 2 on the Billboard chart. He continued to achieve success with subsequent projects, including Home For The Holidays (2014) and When Was The Last Time (2017) charting at number 3 and 2 respectively, hitting the top spot once again with Southern Style in 2015. In 2023, Rucker released his eighth studio album, Carolyn's Boy, dedicated to his mother, who raised him but passed away before her son had found success in music. The album was preceded by hit singles "Beers and Sunshine" and "Fires Don't Start Themselves."