Darius Rucker

Darius Rucker, born May 13, 1966, is an American musician who first found fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, the rock band he co-founded at the University of South Carolina in the late 1980s. With Hootie he charted multiple top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped push the band to massive commercial success in the 1990s, co-writing much of the group's material.

After a solo R&B detour in the early 2000s, Rucker reinvented himself in 2008 as a country artist, signing to Capitol Records Nashville and releasing the album Learn to Live. Its lead single, «Don't Think I Don't Think About It», made him the first African American artist to top the Hot Country Songs chart since Charley Pride in the early 1980s, a milestone that drew wide attention to his crossover. Further number-one country hits followed, including «It Won't Be Like This for Long» and «Alright», along with hits like «Wagon Wheel», «This» and «If I Told You».

Rucker's country sound blends warm, soulful vocal delivery with mainstream Nashville production, and he became one of the genre's most recognized crossover success stories, earning early recognition including the CMA's New Artist Award. He remains active as both a country solo artist and, periodically, as part of Hootie & the Blowfish.