~ The Frontman for Hootie & The Blowfish...

BY DANNY McCARTHY
As a music fan owning the CD titled "Hootie & The Blowfish Fairweather Johnson" and always remembering that group's "I Only Wanna Be With You" ~ I only wanna be write here with you to share some thoughts about its lead singer. {I've incorporated website StubHub information into "my-own-take."} ~
~ The frontman {lead singer}for Hootie & The Blowfish is Darius Rucker. ~
Darius Rucker has garnered the reputation of having “an artistic range {that} spans from soulful R&B to toe-tapping pop and the twangiest of country.”
In 2009 he received the Country Music Association’s New Artist Award and he is the first black American to receive that Award.
“Rucker has also won his fair share of awards throughout his career.” Included are awards from “the American Music Awards, the Grammy Awards and the MTV Music Video Awards to name but a few.”
As a solo artist, he “has released seven studio albums and eight albums as a member of Hootie &The Blowfish…
~ … “In 1995, Rucker had the opportunity to perform the national anthem at the World Series.?
“The Darius Rucker-fronted band has been on hiatus since 2008, but recently announced that they are working on a new studio album and tour. Aside from Rucker, the group includes Mark Bryan, who plays lead guitar and piano and also serves as a backup vocalist. Dean Felber plays bass and piano and is a backup singer. Jim Sonefeld is on drums and percussion, and he sings backup as well. Sonefeld is also the rhythm guitar player for the group. At one time, Brantley Smith played drums for the group.”
In 2008, Darius Rucker “signed on” as a solo country artist with Capitol Records.
Don't Think I Don't Think About It from his album titled Learn to Live hit the Billboard Hot Country charts at No. 51 -{&}- was his first country single.
“Eventually, the song went to No. 1, making him the first black solo artist to chart on the country charts since Charley Pride’s Night Games, which came out in 1983.”
In July of 2008, Rucker appeared at the Grand Old Opry.
“Darius Rucker received an invite to join the Grand Old Opry” in October of 2012.
“Can I find a Darius Rucker tour near me?
Fans can catch him on stage with his old Hootie & The Blowfish bandmates along with the Barenaked Ladies at venues like the Oak Mountain Amphitheatre in Pelham, Alabama, and the Colonial Life Arena in Colombia, South Carolina. Rucker and fellow country music artists such as Tim McGraw, Maren Morris and Zac Brown Band {also appeared} at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in September 2019.
Darius Rucker is often on the road.
Darius Rucker “actually did sing for the Chairman {of the Board}, aka Frank Sinatra, at the legendary crooner's 80th birthday bash. Rucker sang Sinatra's song called The Lady is a Tramp. {As StubHub also says: “It turns out that Rucker has quite a tie to Sinatra’s music now.”}
Darius Rucker “has done several charity benefits that have featured a playlist of Sinatra tunes. His philanthropy supports many children’s causes for the sick and underprivileged.”
“Music fans can pick up concert, tour and festival tickets at StubHub. This online marketplace is the secure place to shop for tickets to all your favorite artists’ shows, including Darius Rucker concerts.”
Just-for-the-sake-of-it as an imdb.com contributor I thought I'd add this not-that-far-from-a-missing-link detailing a 2013 event:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2...