Darius Rucker would be the first to admit he’s a lucky man; in fact, he does so in “This,” the opening cut of his second No. 1 country album, “Charleston, SC 1966.”
His lucky streak started in the 1990s with Hootie & the Blowfish, the bluesy rock band he and three friends formed while attending the University of South Carolina. Their debut album, 1994’s “Cracked Rear View,” spawned five top 10 hits and moved 16 million copies to become one of the top-selling albums of all time.
As Hootie’s success waned, Rucker managed to launch a second career as a solo country artist with 2008’s “Learn to Live,” and his first three singles went to No. 1, a rare feat. He sold more than a million copies before he followed it up last year with “Charleston,” which references his place and year of birth.
Both solo discs hit the Billboard country albums chart at No. 1, a feat no male country act had pulled off since Tim McGraw did it in 1995, according to the magazine.
The fact that some people preface Rucker’s “successful country artist” description with “black” doesn’t really bother him, even though he knows he’s an anomaly in a genre considered lacking in diversity.
“It’s not something I think about,” Rucker said during a recent phone interview. “It’s the nature of our society and for me, anytime someone mentions me with [black country singer] Charley Pride, I feel pretty cool. That’s just the way it is, and I’m cool with it.”
“Cool” is a word he uses to describe much of his life, including a recent duet with hot British retro soul singer Adele on the Lady Antebellum hit “Need You Now” for a CMT “Artists of the Year” special. Their delivery earned them a CMT Performance of the Year nomination.
“We had a blast,” said Rucker of the duet, which also appears on deluxe versions of Adele’s blockbuster album “21.”
Rucker, whose laid-back nature, wide grin, smooth dome and equally smooth baritone give him a friendly crossover appeal, initially tried a solo career reflecting the soul influences he heard during his Charleston upbringing. But a 2002 album release, “Back to Then,” didn’t take off, and he retreated into the Hootie fold before trying again with “Learn to Live.”
Along the way he discovered something about the creative process, which now takes place in organized writing sessions during trips to Nashville.
“I used to be that guy who said, ‘No, I have to wait for inspiration,’” Rucker said. “I really believed that — till I started writing country and realized you don’t really have to wait. You can write anytime. You might write crap, but you can write a song anytime.”
Rucker is already working on writing his next record, and promises there will be another Hootie album and tour — someday. Of course, their lives are different now. It’s not always about the party, for one thing.
He still golfs every day he can while on tour, and when he’s home, he devotes time to his wife and three kids.
“The good thing is, when I’m off, I’m off,” he said. “There’s a lot of hang time. There’s a lot of doing stuff. We go to the movies, we play basketball, we play baseball; we have a lot of fun.”
That’s what he promises fans as well.
“My goal is to make most of the people who see my show say, ‘I want to see that again,’” Rucker said. “I want ’em to have a good time. I want you to leave hearing that song you wanted to hear. I think that’s what you pay for.”
Spoken like a true country star. One who doesn’t sweat the small stuff.
- Last Word Features
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Concert preview
Darius Rucker with Sunny Sweeney
8 p.m. Saturday. $59, $49, $39, $25. Chastain Park Amphitheatre, 4469 Stella Drive, Atlanta 404-733-4949, www.classicchastain.com
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