Darius Rucker talks about his first new album in six years, 'Carolyn's Boy', why he wanted to name the album after his mom, the success of Hootie and the Blowfish, working with Ed Sheeran, the recent popularity of country music on the Billboard charts, and more!
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00:00 He'll sing a line and he'll sing it back and he's singing it different and he's saying
00:03 different words but they're just better.
00:06 Hey, I'm Darius Rucker and this is Billboard News.
00:11 Hey, it's Tetris Kelly with Billboard News hanging out with Darius Rucker.
00:19 How's it going?
00:20 I'm good, Tetris.
00:21 How are you, man?
00:22 I cannot complain.
00:23 We've got to talk about this new music.
00:39 So Carolyn's Boy is out on October 6th, six years since your last release.
00:42 So why now?
00:44 What has taken six years?
00:45 When the pandemic hit and everything, it slowed everything down but it also made it to where,
00:51 you know, there was no rush for the record so I took my time.
00:53 I think it's time for it to come out.
00:55 And then of course, Carolyn's Boy obviously referencing your mom.
00:58 So what was it like to name the album after her?
01:00 You know, it was during the pandemic and everything.
01:02 We were writing the record and I was having a bad day and I just remember I just said
01:06 to myself, you know, at the end of the day I'm just my mama's boy.
01:10 And so I decided I was going to name it Carolyn's Boy after that.
01:13 And it was just, she was such a big influence on me and she was so important in my life
01:17 and, you know, it was time for me to do something special with that.
01:20 That's really touching to me.
01:22 You know, I lost my mom at a young age as well and people call me Trish's son.
01:25 So yeah, I completely understand when you're just the son.
01:29 And one thing that I think about is like, what experience did I go through that I'm
01:33 like, oh, I wish she had seen that.
01:35 So what's a career accomplishment that you wish you could show Carolyn?
01:39 Oh, I wish she could have seen me win my first Grammy.
01:42 That's something I wish she could have seen.
01:43 I mean, we used to watch the Grammys as a family when I was a kid and that was a moment
01:48 that really hit me when I won that first Grammy just thinking, God, I wish my mom was here
01:52 to see this.
01:53 No one believed in me as much as mama.
01:58 You did a track with Ed Sheeran, Sarah.
02:00 So how was it to work with Ed?
02:01 Yeah, I flew over to England to write with him and that kid is such an amazing songwriter
02:06 and such a really good guy and good human being.
02:09 And I was honored to work with him and he's something special.
02:13 Well when you get in the studio with somebody that's a great songwriter like that, is it
02:17 like competitive or are you like, we're just going to work together?
02:19 But you're like, these skills are up here, you know?
02:21 You know, it's a work together thing, but you know, it's amazing.
02:24 You'll say a line or you'll sing a line and he'll sing it back and he's singing it different
02:29 and he's saying different words, but they're just better.
02:32 And you know, so you go with that.
02:35 It was a great experience.
02:36 I hope I get to write with Ed again.
02:38 He's awesome.
02:39 Everything's happening with country music right now.
02:40 We got to talk about that.
02:41 Obviously, we've had multiple weeks on our Hot 100 where the top three songs were all
02:46 country music.
02:47 Yeah.
02:48 Jason Aldean, Luke Holmes, Morgan Wallen.
02:50 What are your thoughts on country music's rise right now?
02:53 Country music is taking over.
02:55 For me, I think it's great to see.
02:58 To have the top three spots in the Hot 100 and all the touring everybody's doing and
03:02 doing well out there.
03:03 It's great to see country is not rock's little sister anymore.
03:07 Country's standing up for itself and on its own and I love being a part of it.
03:13 You see a lot of great things happening in country music from those guys doing that and
03:16 then you see all these African American artists getting record deals and stuff like that.
03:19 So country seems to be moving on up.
03:22 So you mentioned being a black country singer.
03:24 So with artists like Kane Brown, Breelin, how has that journey been for you?
03:29 It's been awesome and crazy.
03:30 When I first came to Nashville, I didn't even think I'd get a record deal.
03:34 You know, and then we did and we go on a radio tour and there were people saying that they
03:38 didn't think the audience would ever accept a black country singer and we proved them
03:43 all wrong and my success turned into Kane and all those other guys getting a shot and
03:50 blowing it up and I love it.
03:51 I love watching it.
03:53 Chapel Heart, all these great groups that are coming out right now.
03:56 I love it.
03:57 History in the making.
04:03 And obviously I'm a millennial so I came from the Hootie and the Blowfish days and what
04:08 was it like to switch genres a little bit because I never heard you talk about that
04:12 like being rock and then now all of a sudden being country.
04:15 What made you do that transition?
04:18 I always wanted to make a country record.
04:19 I've been saying it for years and I was like alright let's go see what happens.
04:23 I didn't think I'd get a deal and I did and we went in and made that first record and
04:28 had three number ones off it and that changed everything.
04:31 That was, you know, now let's do it again and do it again and do it again and it was
04:36 different because the genres are so different but country music, especially the artists,
04:41 are just so welcoming.
04:43 You know like rock and roll and pop is really sometimes, a lot of times, there's a lot
04:47 of people that they make it a competition.
04:50 It seems like for me in country music everybody thinks there's room for all of us if you're
04:56 good.
04:57 And speaking of Hootie, talk about a milestone.
05:02 Next year will be 30 years since Crack Rearview.
05:05 That's wild.
05:06 So how do you feel 30 years later after that album coming out and how are you guys going
05:10 to celebrate?
05:11 Oh I don't know how we're going to celebrate.
05:13 We're still talking about what we're going to do or if we're going to do anything next
05:16 year but it's amazing that that record's been out for 30 years.
05:20 It was such a huge thing for us.
05:22 I mean our whole lives, everything we have came from that record.
05:26 I remember making it and I'm just proud.
05:28 I'm proud that it seems to stand the test of time.
05:30 And I mean it was one of the best selling debut albums ever so did you guys know when
05:34 you were kind of experiencing the hype of that album that it would go down as such an
05:39 iconic record?
05:40 Oh no.
05:41 People were making it.
05:43 The thing that was crazy and tough for us was while we were making it, grunge was so
05:46 big and it was such everywhere.
05:49 We didn't know if there was room for this little pop rock band from South Carolina.
05:54 And now decades later, how do you feel now?
05:56 What do you have left to say as an artist?
05:59 Oh I don't know.
06:01 I still think I got some good music in me for people to listen to but if that wasn't
06:07 the case I could walk away right now and be pretty happy.
06:10 Well that's a good way to live my friend.
06:12 Thank you so much for hanging out.
06:13 Thank you.
06:14 Great talking to you Tantris.
06:14 Thank you.
06:15 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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