Darius Rucker’s Gone Country - and Number One
The last time anyone did so well going “a little bit country, and a little bit rock & roll,” Donny & Marie Osmond were all the rage.
Today, Darius Rucker has put his Hootie & the Blowfish rock ties on hold as he begins his initial foray into country music. And if the early returns are any indication, Rucker doesn’t look like he’ll be a flash in the pan.
The Charleston native just hit number one on the country charts with both his debut CD (Learn to Live) and the debut single from that compilation (“Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”). The latter feat makes Rucker the first solo African-American artist to chart a number one country hit since Charley Pride did it with “Night Games” a quarter century ago.
That success aside, how can you not call it a seamless transition to country music with lyrics like these (from “All I Want”)?
You can have the money
You can have the house
Take the Cadillac and the boat out back
And your mother’s pink and yellow couch
You can have every penny
That I’ll make from this here song
Girl, all I want you to leave me
Is alone
I’m not a big country music fan, but I pick and choose my spots – and Rucker’s CD has already made it to my iPod. The genre just seems like a comfortable fit for him.
The closest scheduled stop to the Grand Strand on Rucker’s current tour is in North Charleston in December, while Hootie & the Blowfish make their way back to the area April 13, 2009 for next year’s Monday After the Masters. Here’s hoping we get to see Darius perform locally some time in between.
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