Having continuously teased new music as he put the finishing touches on his first solo project in six years, three-time GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker now unveils the highly anticipated final project with today’s release of Carolyn’s Boy. Praised by People in the issue on stands today for having “never left his humble roots in the rear view,” Rucker named the album as an homage to his late mother, a woman he celebrates as the sole reason for “who I am, how I am, what I am.” Listen HERE.
“She believed in me more than I believed in myself,” he shared with Jan Crawford on today’s “CBS Mornings.” “She’d tell me all the time, ‘you’re gonna make it; you’re gonna live your dream. I know you are. I can’t wait.’”
Rucker will further discuss the album and his mother’s influence on this weekend’s episode of “Sunday TODAY” via an exclusive interview with Willie Geist on NBC (check local listings), before bringing a feel-good performance of album track “Have A Good Time” to CBS’s “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Thursday, Oct. 10 at 11:35 p.m. / 10:35 p.m. CT.
The series of television appearances continues what has already been a celebratory week for Rucker, including his induction on the Music City Walk of Fame this Wednesday, Oct. 4, and an intimiate performance that evening at Analog at the Hutton Hotel, taped to air as part of PBS’s “Recorded Live at Analog” series debuting in early 2024.
Captivating audiences with what Billboard praises as “one of the most distinctive voices of country’s modern era” Rucker describes the album six years in the making as his favorite he’s ever released, as Garden & Gun declares, “Carolyn’s Boy contains some of the most emotional, vulnerable music of Rucker’s career” with MusicRow adding that it offers “a beautiful blend of feel-good, fun tunes and deeper, moving numbers.”
From recent No. 1 hit “Beers And Sunshine,” his 10th to top the Country charts and what he describes as a perfect summary of Carolyn’s joyful personality, to current single “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” lauded by Billboard for “the impressive vocal control and power in his lower register,” and his latest release, “Southern Comfort,” described by Garden & Gun as “evok[ing] a wistful nostalgia that has become one of Rucker’s calling cards,” the project features 14 tracks, 11 of which boast Rucker as a cowriter.
Some of the notable cowriters joining him on the project include global superstar Ed Sheeran for the reflective “Sara,” penned during a trip to London and celebrated by People as “a mid-tempo rumination on the hopes of seeking friendship and comfort in a long-lost connection;” reigning ACM Artist/Songwriter of the Year HARDY for the longing “3am in Carolina;” and longtime friend and Lady A vocalist Charles Kelley for the despairing “7 days.”
In addition, the album sees Rucker join forces with Chapel Hart for the collaborative “Ol’ Church Hymn” while also offering his take on Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from blockbuster film Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, with MusicRow summarizing his rendition as “beautifully produced, spiritually uplifting and soul stirring. It builds to anthem-level intensity before receding into an intimate prayer. Essential.”
The album offers vulnerably insightful songs such as “Sure Would Have Loved Her,” “Stargazing” and “Never Been Over,” lauded by Garden & Gun in yesterday’s exclusive premiere as “[one] of the album’s highlights,” while also offering uplifting reminders to a divided world on tracks such as “In This Together,” “Same Beer Different Problem” and “Have A Good Time.”
In all, the album demonstrates what the Tennessean praises as Rucker’s “Southernness and soulfulness [which] occupy a uniquely American creative identity. His material caresses, not straddles, the intersections of pop’s unique variants.”
Rucker will also celebrate the release of his new album during the second year of his personally curated Riverfront Revival Music Festival this weekend in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. In addition to Rucker himself, fans will be treated to performances by Turnpike Troubadours, Lainey Wilson, Band of Horses and more. View the full lineup and daily schedule HERE.
Having shared the new music with fans across the country all summer on his Starting Fires Tour, Rucker is also gearing up to take his wide-ranging catalog of hits across the pond with a recently announced run of European tour dates in early 2024.
For more information and to purchase tickets to all upcoming shows, visit DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
Carolyn’s Boy Track List:
Lyrics & label copy available HERE (songwriters in parentheses)
- Beers And Sunshine (Darius Rucker, JT Harding, Josh Osborne, Ross Copperman)
- In This Together (Darius Rucker, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick, Joy Williams)
- Never Been Over (Darius Rucker, Lee Thomas Miller, John Osborne)
- Fires Don’t Start Themselves (Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice, Dan Isbell)
- Ol’ Church Hymn feat. Chapel Hart (Darius Rucker, Greylan James, Ben Hayslip, Josh Miller)
- 7 Days (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Charles Kelley)
- Same Beer Different Problem (Darius Rucker, Tofer Brown, Sarah Buxton, Brad Tursi)
- Sara (Darius Rucker, Joel Crouse, Kyle Rife, Ed Sheeran)
- Have A Good Time (Darius Rucker, Monty Criswell, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick)
- Sure Would Have Loved Her (Darius Rucker, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowrey)
- Southern Comfort (Chris LaCorte, Matt Rogers, Josh Osborne)
- 3am in Carolina (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Michael Hardy)
- Lift Me Up (Temilade Openiyi, Robyn Fenty, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Goransson)
- Stargazing (Darius Rucker, Brinley Addington, Jess Cayne, Matt Morrisey)
Darius Rucker | Photo Credit: Jim Wright
About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021 and his latest single, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves” off brand-new album Carolyn’s Boy is available everywhere now.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $3.6 million for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics apparel line available at Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.
WATCH: Darius Rucker Discusses Carolyn’s Boy
with Jan Crawford on CBS Mornings
WATCH: Darius Rucker Joined Sunday TODAY with Willie Geist this Sunday, Oct. 8 on NBC
Darius Rucker celebrated the release of Carolyn’s Boy with an intimate performance at Analog at the Hutton Hotel on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023, taped to air as part of PBS’s “Recorded Live at Analog” debuting in early 2024.
Darius Rucker is inducted on the Music City Walk of Fame by longtime friend and wrestling superstar Ric Flair on Wednesday, Oct. 4, 2023. | Photo Credit: Alan Poizner/NCVC
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