![\"Feature](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Feature-Darius-Rucker-Ups-and-Downs-Over-the-Years.jpg?crop=0px%2C0px%2C2000px%2C1131px&resize=400%2C225&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n\n\t\t\tRelated: <\/span>Darius Rucker\u2019s Ups and Downs Over the Years<\/span><\/a>
\n\t\t<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n\t\t\tDarius Rucker has a successful music career, but the musician has hit some bumps along the way. Rucker rose to fame as the lead vocalist of Hootie & the Blowfish, which was formed in 1986, alongside Mark Bryan, Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld. After the group went on a hiatus in 2008, Rucker kicked off [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cThe current is ferocious. I feel as if some horrific giant squid has lashed itself around my body, circling and tightening its tentacles around my legs, dragging me under the water. I gulp and I gasp and I keep fighting,\u201d Rucker wrote, noting he got pulled by a rip current. \u201cI fight and flail for I have no idea how long \u2014 ten minutes, fifteen \u2014 and then I hear a voice. Woody. I can\u2019t see him, but I hear him. He\u2019s not far.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harrelson floated with Rucker until the country singer felt like he was \u201cdrifting away.\u201d Eventually, Rucker told Harrelson, \u201cThis is it,\u201d before revealing that he saw \u201ca blinding blast of white\u201d light and visions of his late mother. Harrelson and another friend eventually got Rucker to land.<\/p>\n
Difficult Family Dynamics<\/h3>\n
While Rucker had a great relationship with his mother who died of a heart attack in November 1992, there were two members of his family that the singer did not get along with \u2014 his eldest brother Ricky<\/strong> and his father, who was referred to as Blue<\/strong>.<\/p>\nRucker described Ricky as \u201crail thin, hyper, on edge, frenetic,\u201doften abusing drugs, and \u201cprone to seizures\u201d due to his epilepsy.<\/p>\n
\u201cRicky never gives anything to anyone, not to me, our sisters, nobody. Ricky only takes. Our family has very little to give. He doesn\u2019t care,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cHe takes whatever he can, whatever he sees, whatever he can get his hands on, whether it belongs to him or not. Ricky gets into drugs. I\u2019m eleven and I don\u2019t know what Ricky\u2019s using, but I know Ricky can\u2019t hold a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once in college Rucker said that he eventually gave Ricky \u201csome cash\u201d but eventually decided to \u201clet him go.\u201d He added, \u201cOne night, smashed, f\u2013ked up, a seizure coming on, Ricky falls, hits his head, and bleeds to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for his father, Rucker saw him once as a youngster \u2014 that was the last time they crossed paths in 15 years. Then, the singer\u2019s father came backstage at a Hootie & the Blowfish show, which allowed them to reconnect.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father. A stranger. He has chosen to remove me from his life. He has remarried. He has another family, another life. I feel pummeled by emotion,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cI could shut him out, the way he has shut me out. But instead, I make a decision. I will be the bigger man. I can\u2019t say that I will forgive him, but I will allow him in, at least a crack. I will be \u2014 open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, after Rucker made it big, his father asked for $50,000 \u2014 which put their relationship to an end.<\/p>\n
How Dave Letterman Helped Hootie<\/h3>\n\n![\"Darius](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Darius-Rucker-Details-Nonstop-Partying-in-Memoir-4.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n (L-R) Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish<\/span> Rich Fury\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA bulk of the memoir was Rucker\u2019s experience with Hootie & The Blowfish after Rucker, Mark Bryan<\/strong>, Dean Felber<\/strong> and Jim Sonefeld<\/strong> formed the band during their sophomore year at the University of South Carolina. They were performing at smaller venues until Letterman \u201cdrives from New York to his home in Connecticut after the taping of his show\u201d and hears a Hootie song on the radio.<\/p>\n\u201cHe strains to hear the name of the band. The DJ says it. Sort of a joke name. Dave laughs. He\u2019ll never forget that name,\u201d Rucker wrote, noting that Letterman invited them on his late night show shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we don\u2019t know then is that beginning the following Monday and every night for the next year, David Letterman will say randomly, for fun, for good reason, or for no reason at all \u2014 Hootie & The Blowfish,\u201d Rucker recalled. \u201cFor the next f\u2013king year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting Beth Leonard<\/h3>\n
Rucker met his now-estranged wife at an event in the late 1990s before they became friends. After their friendship got stronger, he eventually asked her on a date. Following their first night out, Rucker knew he would marry Leonard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeth and I marry on December 9, 2000, on the beach in Bermuda,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn the end, we stay married for twenty years, a testament to her in every way: to her strength, her resolve, and her commitment to our kids and to me. Sadly, we uncouple in 2020<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nSubstance Abuse Issues<\/h3>\n
After rising to fame in the band, Rucker gained unfettered access to drugs and alcohol. His beverage of choice was Jim Beam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you got, I\u2019m in. Booze. Drugs,\u201d he wrote of the band. \u201cEverything you can name, anything you can think of, and piles of it, tons of it, as omnipresent as air. We drink, we smoke, we sniff, we stockpile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the memoir, Rucker wrote that they would use \u201cday, evening, night, into the next day, always\u201d and \u201cnonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rucker also credited Leonard as the one who helped him \u201cstop partying.\u201d She told him: \u201cI will make your life hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
His Friendship With Tiger Woods<\/h3>\n\n![\"Darius](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Darius-Rucker-Details-Nonstop-Partying-in-Memoir-1.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>
\n Tiger Woods with Darius Rucker and Notah Begay III<\/span> Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRucker met the golfer after playing a show in Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stay in touch and shortly become fast friends,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cHootie & The Blowfish play at his wedding, I sing at Tiger\u2019s thirtieth birthday, I sing at his fortieth birthday, I sing at his dad\u2019s funeral. As time goes on, he gets hit hard by life. He goes through so much<\/a>, physically, mentally, emotionally, and somehow survives. I stick by him, through it all.\u201d<\/p>\nExperiencing Racism<\/h3>\n
Growing up Black in the south, racism was something that Rucker experienced throughout his upbringing \u2014 but it got worse as he started performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m human and when I hear someone say the N-word to me at a frat party, I want to stop the band from playing and f\u2013king fight,\u201d Rucker wrote about the early days of his career. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that I often get buzzed before we go on because that takes the edge off my anger when something like that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
He eventually wrote \u201cDrowning\u201d and \u201cI Don\u2019t Understand\u201d about race. But when it came time to start a country music career<\/a>, Rucker heard that \u201cthe country music world will never accept a Black country singer<\/a>\u201d \u2014 but he beat the odds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
The Success of \u2018Wagon Wheel\u2019<\/h3>\n\n![\"Darius](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Darius-Rucker-Details-Nonstop-Partying-in-Memoir-2.jpg?w=1000&quality=86&strip=all\")
<\/div>C Brandon\/Redferns<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile at a school event for his daughter Carolyn, the teachers started playing his 2013 country hit \u201cWagon Wheel\u201d and Rucker decided to cover the song and it eventually became his \u201cbiggest-selling single ever\u201d and nabbed him a Grammy Award.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it. I am a country singer. I am a card-carrying member of the country music club,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBeing inducted into the Grand Ole Opry<\/a> by Vince Gill<\/strong> after being invited by Brad Paisley<\/strong> proves that. What more can I ask for?\u201d<\/p>\nDid Hootie & The Blowfish Break Up?<\/h3>\n
While Hootie stopped playing together, Rucker noted that the band did not break up \u201cofficially or unofficially.\u201d He added, \u201cWe don\u2019t call it quits. We don\u2019t say goodbye. We leave every door open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
Rucker described Ricky as \u201crail thin, hyper, on edge, frenetic,\u201doften abusing drugs, and \u201cprone to seizures\u201d due to his epilepsy.<\/p>\n
\u201cRicky never gives anything to anyone, not to me, our sisters, nobody. Ricky only takes. Our family has very little to give. He doesn\u2019t care,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cHe takes whatever he can, whatever he sees, whatever he can get his hands on, whether it belongs to him or not. Ricky gets into drugs. I\u2019m eleven and I don\u2019t know what Ricky\u2019s using, but I know Ricky can\u2019t hold a job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Once in college Rucker said that he eventually gave Ricky \u201csome cash\u201d but eventually decided to \u201clet him go.\u201d He added, \u201cOne night, smashed, f\u2013ked up, a seizure coming on, Ricky falls, hits his head, and bleeds to death.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for his father, Rucker saw him once as a youngster \u2014 that was the last time they crossed paths in 15 years. Then, the singer\u2019s father came backstage at a Hootie & the Blowfish show, which allowed them to reconnect.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy father. A stranger. He has chosen to remove me from his life. He has remarried. He has another family, another life. I feel pummeled by emotion,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cI could shut him out, the way he has shut me out. But instead, I make a decision. I will be the bigger man. I can\u2019t say that I will forgive him, but I will allow him in, at least a crack. I will be \u2014 open.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, after Rucker made it big, his father asked for $50,000 \u2014 which put their relationship to an end.<\/p>\n
How Dave Letterman Helped Hootie<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>
\n (L-R) Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish<\/span> Rich Fury\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nA bulk of the memoir was Rucker\u2019s experience with Hootie & The Blowfish after Rucker, Mark Bryan<\/strong>, Dean Felber<\/strong> and Jim Sonefeld<\/strong> formed the band during their sophomore year at the University of South Carolina. They were performing at smaller venues until Letterman \u201cdrives from New York to his home in Connecticut after the taping of his show\u201d and hears a Hootie song on the radio.<\/p>\n\u201cHe strains to hear the name of the band. The DJ says it. Sort of a joke name. Dave laughs. He\u2019ll never forget that name,\u201d Rucker wrote, noting that Letterman invited them on his late night show shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat we don\u2019t know then is that beginning the following Monday and every night for the next year, David Letterman will say randomly, for fun, for good reason, or for no reason at all \u2014 Hootie & The Blowfish,\u201d Rucker recalled. \u201cFor the next f\u2013king year.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meeting Beth Leonard<\/h3>\n
Rucker met his now-estranged wife at an event in the late 1990s before they became friends. After their friendship got stronger, he eventually asked her on a date. Following their first night out, Rucker knew he would marry Leonard.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeth and I marry on December 9, 2000, on the beach in Bermuda,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn the end, we stay married for twenty years, a testament to her in every way: to her strength, her resolve, and her commitment to our kids and to me. Sadly, we uncouple in 2020<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\nSubstance Abuse Issues<\/h3>\n
After rising to fame in the band, Rucker gained unfettered access to drugs and alcohol. His beverage of choice was Jim Beam.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you got, I\u2019m in. Booze. Drugs,\u201d he wrote of the band. \u201cEverything you can name, anything you can think of, and piles of it, tons of it, as omnipresent as air. We drink, we smoke, we sniff, we stockpile.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in the memoir, Rucker wrote that they would use \u201cday, evening, night, into the next day, always\u201d and \u201cnonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rucker also credited Leonard as the one who helped him \u201cstop partying.\u201d She told him: \u201cI will make your life hell.\u201d<\/p>\n
His Friendship With Tiger Woods<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>
\n Tiger Woods with Darius Rucker and Notah Begay III<\/span> Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nRucker met the golfer after playing a show in Michigan.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe stay in touch and shortly become fast friends,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cHootie & The Blowfish play at his wedding, I sing at Tiger\u2019s thirtieth birthday, I sing at his fortieth birthday, I sing at his dad\u2019s funeral. As time goes on, he gets hit hard by life. He goes through so much<\/a>, physically, mentally, emotionally, and somehow survives. I stick by him, through it all.\u201d<\/p>\nExperiencing Racism<\/h3>\n
Growing up Black in the south, racism was something that Rucker experienced throughout his upbringing \u2014 but it got worse as he started performing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m human and when I hear someone say the N-word to me at a frat party, I want to stop the band from playing and f\u2013king fight,\u201d Rucker wrote about the early days of his career. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that I often get buzzed before we go on because that takes the edge off my anger when something like that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
He eventually wrote \u201cDrowning\u201d and \u201cI Don\u2019t Understand\u201d about race. But when it came time to start a country music career<\/a>, Rucker heard that \u201cthe country music world will never accept a Black country singer<\/a>\u201d \u2014 but he beat the odds.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThank You!<\/h3>\n
You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n
The Success of \u2018Wagon Wheel\u2019<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>C Brandon\/Redferns<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWhile at a school event for his daughter Carolyn, the teachers started playing his 2013 country hit \u201cWagon Wheel\u201d and Rucker decided to cover the song and it eventually became his \u201cbiggest-selling single ever\u201d and nabbed him a Grammy Award.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made it. I am a country singer. I am a card-carrying member of the country music club,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBeing inducted into the Grand Ole Opry<\/a> by Vince Gill<\/strong> after being invited by Brad Paisley<\/strong> proves that. What more can I ask for?\u201d<\/p>\nDid Hootie & The Blowfish Break Up?<\/h3>\n
While Hootie stopped playing together, Rucker noted that the band did not break up \u201cofficially or unofficially.\u201d He added, \u201cWe don\u2019t call it quits. We don\u2019t say goodbye. We leave every door open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n (L-R) Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, Darius Rucker and Mark Bryan of Hootie & the Blowfish<\/span> Rich Fury\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
A bulk of the memoir was Rucker\u2019s experience with Hootie & The Blowfish after Rucker, Mark Bryan<\/strong>, Dean Felber<\/strong> and Jim Sonefeld<\/strong> formed the band during their sophomore year at the University of South Carolina. They were performing at smaller venues until Letterman \u201cdrives from New York to his home in Connecticut after the taping of his show\u201d and hears a Hootie song on the radio.<\/p>\n \u201cHe strains to hear the name of the band. The DJ says it. Sort of a joke name. Dave laughs. He\u2019ll never forget that name,\u201d Rucker wrote, noting that Letterman invited them on his late night show shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we don\u2019t know then is that beginning the following Monday and every night for the next year, David Letterman will say randomly, for fun, for good reason, or for no reason at all \u2014 Hootie & The Blowfish,\u201d Rucker recalled. \u201cFor the next f\u2013king year.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucker met his now-estranged wife at an event in the late 1990s before they became friends. After their friendship got stronger, he eventually asked her on a date. Following their first night out, Rucker knew he would marry Leonard.<\/p>\n \u201cBeth and I marry on December 9, 2000, on the beach in Bermuda,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn the end, we stay married for twenty years, a testament to her in every way: to her strength, her resolve, and her commitment to our kids and to me. Sadly, we uncouple in 2020<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n After rising to fame in the band, Rucker gained unfettered access to drugs and alcohol. His beverage of choice was Jim Beam.<\/p>\n \u201cWhatever you got, I\u2019m in. Booze. Drugs,\u201d he wrote of the band. \u201cEverything you can name, anything you can think of, and piles of it, tons of it, as omnipresent as air. We drink, we smoke, we sniff, we stockpile.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere in the memoir, Rucker wrote that they would use \u201cday, evening, night, into the next day, always\u201d and \u201cnonstop.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucker also credited Leonard as the one who helped him \u201cstop partying.\u201d She told him: \u201cI will make your life hell.\u201d<\/p>\n Rucker met the golfer after playing a show in Michigan.<\/p>\n \u201cWe stay in touch and shortly become fast friends,\u201d Rucker wrote. \u201cHootie & The Blowfish play at his wedding, I sing at Tiger\u2019s thirtieth birthday, I sing at his fortieth birthday, I sing at his dad\u2019s funeral. As time goes on, he gets hit hard by life. He goes through so much<\/a>, physically, mentally, emotionally, and somehow survives. I stick by him, through it all.\u201d<\/p>\n Growing up Black in the south, racism was something that Rucker experienced throughout his upbringing \u2014 but it got worse as he started performing.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m human and when I hear someone say the N-word to me at a frat party, I want to stop the band from playing and f\u2013king fight,\u201d Rucker wrote about the early days of his career. \u201cI\u2019m thankful that I often get buzzed before we go on because that takes the edge off my anger when something like that happens.\u201d<\/p>\n He eventually wrote \u201cDrowning\u201d and \u201cI Don\u2019t Understand\u201d about race. But when it came time to start a country music career<\/a>, Rucker heard that \u201cthe country music world will never accept a Black country singer<\/a>\u201d \u2014 but he beat the odds.<\/p>\n You have successfully subscribed.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n While at a school event for his daughter Carolyn, the teachers started playing his 2013 country hit \u201cWagon Wheel\u201d and Rucker decided to cover the song and it eventually became his \u201cbiggest-selling single ever\u201d and nabbed him a Grammy Award.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve made it. I am a country singer. I am a card-carrying member of the country music club,\u201d he wrote. \u201cBeing inducted into the Grand Ole Opry<\/a> by Vince Gill<\/strong> after being invited by Brad Paisley<\/strong> proves that. What more can I ask for?\u201d<\/p>\n While Hootie stopped playing together, Rucker noted that the band did not break up \u201cofficially or unofficially.\u201d He added, \u201cWe don\u2019t call it quits. We don\u2019t say goodbye. We leave every door open.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\nMeeting Beth Leonard<\/h3>\n
Substance Abuse Issues<\/h3>\n
His Friendship With Tiger Woods<\/h3>\n
<\/div>
\n Tiger Woods with Darius Rucker and Notah Begay III<\/span> Streeter Lecka\/Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nExperiencing Racism<\/h3>\n
Thank You!<\/h3>\n
The Success of \u2018Wagon Wheel\u2019<\/h3>\n
<\/div>Did Hootie & The Blowfish Break Up?<\/h3>\n