Darius Rucker: The Best Singer of Our Generation

They say the true measure of a musician is the ability to play multiple kinds of music. Singer and songwriter Darius Rucker once hailed as the lead singer of the popular rock band Hootie and the Blowfish is now a successful country singer. His career spans 3 decades. This article is why he is such a great musician.

Darius Rucker was raised by a single mom in Charleston, South Carolina. He has 5 siblings: 3 sisters and 2 brothers. His dad was around very little when he grew up, although he would occasionally see him before church.

His dad is also a singer in a gospel group called "The Rolling Stones." Some describe Darius' deep song voice as very similar to his his father's. His family says singing was always Darius' dream. His mom died suddenly of a heart attack in November 1992.

Darius is married to Beth. He has 2 children with Beth, a boy and a girl. He also has a daughter from a previous relationship.

Hootie and the Blowfish was formed in 1986 with Darius Rucker as the lead singer. Fellow band member Mark Bryan overheard Darius singing in the shower at the University of South Carolina where they both were students.

Darius and Mark formed a duo and later added Jim Sonefield and Dean Felber to complete the group in 1989.

Hootie and the Blowfish are one of the bands that defined the sound of the 1990's.

Hootie and the Blowfish recorded 5 albums:

• Cracked Rear View
• Fairweather Johnson
• Musical Chairs
• Hootie and the Blowfish
• Looking for Lucky

In 2008, Darius Rucker released his first country album "Learn to Live." This album was certified gold in February 2009. This musical masterpiece included songs like "Don't Think I Don't Think About It," "It Won't Be Like This For Long," "Alright," and "History in the Making."

When this album was released, Darius acknowledged some singers who are past their prime release country albums. His answer to this was, ""You see a lot of people doing a one-off, saying, 'This is my country record.' But this is a career I'm trying to build. The people that say that they don't get it, I'll let the music speak for itself. I plan to do a lot of country records."

Darius' second album came out in October 2010. The first two singles reached number ONE on the country charts.