Darius Rucker Makes History – Today In Country Music History [VIDEO]

2008  Rucker Makes Country Music History

Darius Rucker became the first African American artist to score a number one country hit since Ray Charles in 1985 as "Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It" topped the charts, and the first as a solo act since Charlie Pride in 1983.

It was Rucker's first single after crossing over to country. He first gained fame as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim Sonefeld and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member, charting six top 40 hits. Rucker co-wrote the majority of the band's songs with the other three members.

In early 2008, Rucker signed to Capitol Records Nashville as the beginning of a career in country music. It is the first single from his second album, Learn to Live.  Rucker's entry into the country world was met with some intrigue, largely because of his history as a rock musician and because he is African-American. Billboard magazine said that "there's a sense of purpose that makes Rucker feel like a member of the country family, rather than calculating interloper."

Rucker made visits to various country stations around the US, explaining that he was aware that he was the "new kid on the block." Mike Culotta, the program director of the Tampa, Florida radio station WQYK-FM expected that Rucker would be "somebody who would have entitlement," but instead said that "Darius engaged everybody." When Rucker found that "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" went to number one, he cried^.

On November 11, 2009, Rucker won the Country Music Association New Artist of the Year award, making him the first African American to do so since the award was introduced in 1981. Only one other African American has won at the CMAs: Charley Pride, who won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971 and 1972.