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Darius Rucker music biography continued...

Sonefeld, and Dean Felber, while attending the University of South Carolina and formed the blues rock band Hootie & The Blowfish with them in 1986. With his soulful baritone, Rucker served as the group's frontman, as the group independently released two cassette demo EPs in 1991 and 1992. In 1993, they pressed 50,000 copies of a self-released EP, Kootchypop, which led to a record deal with Atlantic and their mainstream debut, 1994's Cracked Rear View. It was an instant success, ultimately going platinum 16 times in the U.S. and becoming the best-selling album of 1995. The album was propelled by four hits, "Hold My Hand" (U.S. #10), "Let Her Cry" (U.S. #9), "Only Wanna Be With You" (U.S. #6), and "Time" (U.S. #14). With Rucker still at the helm, the band won the "Best New Artist" award at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Although their next album bombed, they came up with a hit single in 1997—"I Go Blind—"which was featured on the hit sitcom, Friends. In 2001, he made his solo R&B debut album The Return of Mongo Slade for Atlantic Records, but Rucker still had another genre to conquer.



In early 2008, Rucker signed to Capitol Records Nashville as the beginning of a career in country music. His first solo single, "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" (which he co-wrote) debuted at #51 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts in May 2008. Rucker also made his Grand Ole Opry that month. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" reached Top 20 on the country charts in July 2008, making Rucker the first African-American singer to reach Top 20 on the country charts since Charley Pride in 1988. It would reach #1 in September, serving as another historic milestone. Learn to Live, the album it was off, was certified gold in February 2009, as was "Don't Think I Don't Think About It". Two months later, the album's second single, "It Won't Be Like This for Long", spent three weeks at #1, cementing Rucker's status as a genuine country star.