News - Entertainment

Friday, Sep. 19, 2008

Darius Rucker is standing tall in his country debut

He could have been the punch line, but instead he’s in on the joke.

“A lot of people expected Hootie with a lap steel and fiddle,” he said, letting out a throaty laugh.

Darius Rucker is laughing all the way to the top of the country charts.

His single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” released three months ago, is still smoking, and it has a chance to reach No. 1.

Rucker, 42, the frontman of Hootie and The Blowfish, released his debut country album, “Learn to Live,” on Tuesday.

Instead of falling in behind singers like Jessica Simpson, who have dressed pop songs in cowboy shirts and boots, Rucker has recorded songs that feel and sound like honest-to-Nashville country music.

“They’re shocked at how country it is,” he said. “I don’t want to be just another rock star coming into country.”

LJ Smith, director of programming for local country music station WCOS-FM 97.5, said he was impressed with how easy the transition from top 40 to country music has been for Rucker.

“I think real country music fans will love the CD,” he said. “(‘Don’t Think’) is one of our top-requested songs.”

Country listeners have picked up on Rucker’s sincerity.

“Country audiences are not stupid,” said Brian Mansfield, USA Today’s Nashville reporter. “They can see who means it. They can see who is doing it to keep a career going.

”The country audience appreciates the genuine.“

This isn’t Rucker’s first solo foray.

In 2002, he released “Back to Then,” a soul-pop album that featured “Wild One,” a single that earned play on BET, and “Sometimes I Wonder,” a duet with neo-soul songstress Jill Scott.

”I had just discovered Notorious B.I.G. and Lauryn Hill,” Rucker said. “Being a black guy singing rock ‘n’ roll my whole life, I was like, ‘Wow, I could do (R&B)’.”

The record didn’t catch on with urban audiences. There is something different, though, about Rucker’s appeal as a country singer.

Still, some, like Beville Darden, the editor of AOL’s country music Web site, theboot.com, weren’t sure if Rucker’s intentions were genuine.

“I was a little skeptical because we have a huge wave of pop stars crossing over,” Darden said. “I started listening to interviews, and you realize country flows in his blood.“

Rucker, who grew up in Charleston, has always been a fan of country, listening to Buck Owens and New Grass Revival.

Country fans are hearing Grand Ole Opry influences in “Don’t Think,” which relies heavily on the familiar thrust in Rucker’s voice. His singing makes the turn-back-the-clock tale believable.

“It’s all about the heart. He sings genuine,” Smith said. “(Country fans) look for a genuine person, and not someone who’s made up.”

Perceived honesty separates Rucker from other genre jumpers like Simpson, whose “Come on Over” stalled outside the top 10.

”Darius is not one of those guys,” Darden said. “I think he just loves the music. His voice just translates to other genres.“

But there’s one thing that separates Rucker from just about every other country singer.

It’s simple, Charley Pride will tell you.

“I’ve just been doing what I’ve been doing for 40 years,” said Pride, the Mississippi-born singer who has been the only successful black country performer for just as long. He was the first and so far only black performer inducted into the Grand Ole Opry.

Rucker is the first black singer to make it near the top of the country’s singles chart since Pride did it in the ’80s.

Neither sees it as a big deal, especially Pride, who has been called the Jackie Robinson of country music.

”Jackie was picked for a specific reason,” Pride said. “Nobody came and sat me down and said nothing like that.

“I never had to go through what he had to go through. I never had any hoot calls out of the audience.”

Still, there has been a dearth of black country performers. Cowboy Troy, the hick-hop purveyor who recently performed at Headliners, opened at No. 2 on the country album chart with his 2005 release, “Loco Motive.” But his songs weren’t hits on the radio.