Darius Rucker was born in South Carolina and was raised by his mother. Darius used to jam with his friends and also sing some melodies of famous songs at parties. But he never thought of pursuing music as a career though it was his passion.

Darius Rucker - The Hootie In The Blowfish

"It was important to me to find a label that wouldn't back out after a first single. Everyone's so used to hearing me with Hootie, they're going to be skeptical". - Darius Rucker

Early Life

Darius Rucker was born in South Carolina and was raised by his mother. Darius used to jam with his friends and also sing some melodies of famous songs at parties. But he never thought of pursuing music as a career though it was his passion.

Hootie Success

Darius mate his Hootie and Blowfish bandmates as a freshman at the University of South Carolina. Hootie and Blowfish started recording demos and EP's and plays locally in Columbia, South Carolina. They signed to Atlantic records and released the album "Cracked Rear View" in 1994. Darius penning several tracks including "I'm Going Home" and "Let her Cry". The impact of the album was phenomenal. It peaked at No.1 on the US charts and by the end of 1995 it had sold a staggering 10.5 million copies and eventually it has sold 17 million copies making it one of the biggest selling albums in the US. Neither Darius nor rest of the band was ready for this meteoric rise and success. Darius Rucker's easy and unassuming vocals were highly appreciated. They went on extensive sold out tours. As a member of Hottie Darius released four more albums to fair success.

But by 2008, Darius announced the break-up of the band during an AOL Session interviews. The reason for the split was the fact that Darius wanted to pursue a solo country career. Though they have appeared together for several charity events.

Solo Start

After taking break from recording and touring. He recorded the album "The Return of Mongoslade" for Atlantic records but it was never released due to contractual issues. Darius opted to come out of his contract with Atlantic and signed with Hidden Beach records and released his first album "Back to Then" to mostly positive reviews.

In 2008 he signed with Capitol Records and it was the start of his direction towards country music. He started recording with Frank Rogers who produced Hootie albums. He released a song "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" which debut at No.51 on the Billboard Country Singles charts. He followed it up by releasing his first album "Learn to Live" in May 2008. It has been certified Platinum in the US. His entry into country music did create a lot of intrigue as the genre was not known to have African American lead singers.

Darius won the Country Music Award for Best New Artist in Nov 2009 making him the first African American to win the award.

• Did You Know: Darius Rucker played at the Wedding of legendary golfer Tiger Woods and also at the funeral of Woods's father.
• Did You Know: Iconic Frank Sinatra invited Darius to sing at Sinatra's 80^th birthday party
• Did You Know: Heis a hardcore fan of the American Football team The Miami Dolphins and even has a tattoo of the teams logo

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