Darius Rucker photo by Russ Harrington, courtesy of Capitol Nashville.
April 28, 2009 — Darius Rucker first established his reputation as the lead singer of the pop-rock band Hootie + The Blowfish, but when he made his Grand Ole Opry debut in July, he cemented new country credentials.
"When I left the Opry House that night I felt like, ‘I’m becoming a part of this family,’" he says on GAC’s Backstory: Darius Rucker, the second installment in a series of specials about country’s biggest stars.
Since that Opry performance, Darius has emerged as one of the strongest new performers in country, hitting No. 1 with both of his two singles in the genre, "Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It" and "It Won’t Be Like This For Long." Backstory follows him from his South Carolina youth to his rock persona and his new country position. The edition features not only Darius, but several family members, Hootie bass player Dean Felber and golfer Tiger Woods.
Ultimately, Darius envisions his future story as one that will play itself out in country.
"This is my career move," Darius says. "This is me saying to country music, ‘I’m here as long as you want to play my records, and as long as you want to listen to me play I’m going to be here.’ I’m a country singer."
Sara Evans was the focus of the first edition of Backstory in April. Darius’ feature debuts Saturday on GAC at 10 p.m. ET.
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