While Darius Rucker is grateful for his notoriety, the country star is admitting success in the entertainment industry comes with its own burdens.
Rucker — who first rose to stardom as the lead singer of the pop band Hootie and the Blowfish before crossing over as a solo artist in the country genre — recently spoke with Fox News about the struggle of being separated from his family while he’s performing around the country.
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“I’ve wanted to play music since I was 4 and I’m getting to do it at 56 still so I think that’s pretty cool,” he said. “The only hard thing about being on the road is being away from your kids.”
“That’s the only hard part,” the “Wagon Wheel” singer added. “Everything else is gravy. But, you know, being away from the family and not seeing them as much as you can … is tough, but it’s your job.”
Rucker, who in one interview said his relationship with God is “very important,” took a chance when he tried his hand at country after a decade and a half with Hootie and the Blowfish. He recalled knowing “it was time” to give a solo career a shot after he and his then-bandmates decided they weren’t going to tour anymore.
That’s when the singer-songwriter moved to Nashville.
“When I very first started,” Rucker said, “there was a lot of naysayers and everything, but once ‘Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It’ hit, I think acceptance started.”
That song — his first solo hit — debuted in 2008 and landed soon thereafter at the top of the country music charts. Just a few years later, in 2012, Rucker was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry — a significant rite of passage for anyone in the country genre.
“I have no idea why any of this is happening,” Rucker said, looking back at his success thus far. “I just know I’m enjoying it.”
CBN’s Faithwire spoke with one of Rucker’s former Hootie and the Blowfish bandmates, Jim Sonefeld, last summer. Sonefeld, the band’s drummer and principal songwriter, opened up about how he became a Christian amid significant struggles with alcoholism and drug addiction.
Ultimately, God used Sonefeld’s then-4-year-old daughter to snap the celebrity out of his stupor. You can watch our full conversation with him in the video below.