Darius Rucker shines on country music stations

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — After 15 years of being recognized as “Hootie” from Hootie & the Blowfish, Darius Rucker was caught off-guard recently while checking into a Baltimore hotel.

“It's the same hotel I stay in all the time, and there's a new clerk back there and she's looking at me and staring at me, and I'm expecting, ‘Hey, aren't you Hootie' or ‘Aren't you the guy from Hootie and the Blowfish.' And she looked at me and said, ‘Aren't you Darius Rucker, the country singer.'

“It really took me back,” said Rucker, who at 43 looks about the same as he did belting out “Only Wanna Be With You” or “Let Her Cry” in the mid-'90s.

Rucker is getting used to being called a country singer. He's had a pair of No. 1 country singles from his CD “Learn to Live” — “Don't Think I Don't Think About It” and “It Won't Be Like This For Long.” The latest cut from that CD, “Alright,” is in the top 10.

Country Music Television will air a special, “Invitation Only: Darius Rucker,” at 10 CDT tonight.

Rucker said he's certainly surprised by his country music success.

“There was never a full-page ad in Billboard magazine saying ‘The new Darius Rucker album is coming out. Darius has gone country, and here's his first single.' There wasn't any of that. It was me in the car with a buddy driving around to 85 radio stations.”

Rucker's showing is even more unlikely considering the hard time black singers have cracking country charts. His “Don't Think I Don't Think About It” was the first No. 1 hit by a black artist since Ray Charles' “Seven Spanish Angels” duet with Willie Nelson topped the charts in 1985.

“I'm not going to change what happened in the past or anything,” said the Charleston, S.C., native. “I'd like to think the reason it happened for me is the songs.

“I thought being in Hootie was going to hurt a lot, but it got me in the door,” he continued. “Everyone saw me because of Hootie. At the radio stations, they sat me down and got to know me and listened to my songs. And I got in because I was in Hootie & the Blowfish.”

After selling 16 million copies of their 1994 big-label debut, “Cracked Rear View,” Hootie & the Blowfish never came close to matching their early heights. They released four more studio albums. Their last, 2005's “Looking for Lucky,” peaked at No. 47 on the Billboard 200.

The group's decline seemed cemented when Rucker portrayed a singing cowboy in a 2005 Burger King commercial.

Still, Rucker says the band will record and tour again at some point. Right now, though, he's focused on his country career — a shift that felt natural to him. He'd always liked the genre and thought some Hootie & the Blowfish songs could be country songs.

When he got a deal with Capitol Records Nashville, he began co-writing with some of Nashville's top tunesmiths and working with producer Frank Rogers, best known for helping craft albums by Brad Paisley and Trace Adkins. Paisley, Alison Krauss and Vince Gill all make guest appearances on the CD.

Rucker has become a staple on country radio and a fan favorite. He toured with Paisley and Rascal Flatts and performed on the main stage of the Country Music Association festival.