Darius Rucker
A Reason To Smile
Rock ‘n’ roller turned country music superstar Darius Rucker is having a good couple of months. He just received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and released his eighth solo album to positive reviews. Those honors and achievements don’t come as a shock to anyone who has followed Rucker’s career. But another recent award was a real surprise, even to Rucker himself.
The Country Music Association (CMA) Foundation chose Rucker to receive its humanitarian award. It shouldn’t have been a surprise, to anyone.
For decades, Darius Rucker’s music has given us plenty of reasons to smile. His service and philanthropy are just as remarkable and worthy of celebration.
Rucker has helped raise millions to treat children with cancer, and millions more to build a new children’s hospital in his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina. He also donates his time to Musicians on Call, a service that provides singers to hospitalized patients in need of cheering up. Imagine Darius Rucker popping in for a tune or two?! He’s done it. A lot.
Rucker recently told Variety, “Growing up, it was just hammered into me by my mom to help. It’s such a part of my DNA. I don’t even think about it.”
To honor his mother, Rucker titled his latest album “Carolyn’s Boy.” Carolyn Rucker died when Darius was in his 20s, but her influence remains his heart and soul.
“When I was a kid, she instilled in us that you help people, not people that are less fortunate; you help people that need help,” Rucker told Kelly Clarkson, who presented him with the award.
What were the odds, back in 2008 when Rucker suddenly found himself without a band? His group, Hootie and the Blowfish, had decided to go on hiatus. So he made the risky decision to change course, setting his sights on Nashville and country music — not a genre that has been especially welcoming to Black artists. Before Rucker, Charley Pride was the last Black country artist to have a number-one country song, and that was 40 years ago. Rucker was told his audience would never accept him or his new music.
But here we are in 2024, and Rucker is not only a crossover success but a country music icon. He’s had four number-one country albums and 10 number-one country singles. Billboard said of Rucker, “He has one of the most distinctive voices in modern country music.” It’s a genre that’s changing. Just look at young Black country stars like Kane Brown and Mickey Guyton. Rucker recently addressed the issue of race in country music in an Op-Ed for the Tennessean.
“The one thing I’ve found, in the places I've been and with the things I've tried to do – which were always unconventional – is that you can change people's hearts. You can change people's minds. You can change the way people see the world, if they love you, and if they're friends with you. Country music has this stigma of rebel flags and racism, and that's changing. I think it's changing drastically. And I'm just glad. I hope I'm remembered as one of the people that tried to fight that, and one of the reasons that changed.”
I interviewed Rucker back in 2014, when he was up for his first solo Grammy. He told me with a smile that he didn’t know if “Wagon Wheel” would win, but that it should.
Not only did it win, but it became one of the top five bestselling country songs of all time.
Please take a moment to enjoy “Wagon Wheel” by Darius Rucker, a consummate country artist and model citizen.
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And the trump children and you have to assume the children of the elected GOP persons are brought up to steal steal steal and lie lie lie and only help those who can help you. What a contrast! It may seem like 40 years between Black superstars in Country Music is a long time, but compared to other changes in the US, perhaps not. From the Seneca Falls Convention to the right to vote was "only" a bit over 70 years, and still women do not have the same rights as men. From the abolition of slavery to the Civil Rights Act was 100 years (and discrimination still runs rampant). Lets somehow focus on lifting up citizens like Mr. Rucker who do good things naturally, with no hope of praise, media coverage or anything. They just do the right thing. I criticize the media a lot for how they spend so much time talking about trump and so little time talking about the accomplishments of the Biden Administration, but at least, even just briefly, the media is reporting on the generosity and goodness of big time celebrities like Taylor Swift and Danus Rucker and they could hardly help but mention the goodness that Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter have done. Think what a different world we would have if good deeds amazing scientific/medical findings made the headlines in an equal amount to the coverage of the behaviors of trump and his republican supporters and if those articles were reporting of fact and no what if articles. I think we'd be a happier people, well informed of the corruption and hate in our nation but also well informed of the goodness. However I do believe that a lot of folks who do really good things do not want to be in the limelight and do not want the publicity, and trump et al live for that and bask is the truth that there is no such thing as bad publicity (and it seems they are right as there continue to be no consequences for their actions except more power....lets vote them out in November!).
Outstanding! I've been a Rucker fan since the Hootie days. His mother would be proud. He's amazing!! Go, Darius!!