Former Hootie & the Blowfish lead singer Darius Rucker put out his country album Learn to Live in the middle of 2008, so it’s not really in the same category as the other albums I’m discussing this week (all of which had ’09 releases). But there’s no harm in getting it on record.
Rucker has had an impressive second act, landing this album and its first three singles at #1 on the country charts, no mean feat in general but even more impressive as he’s the first black man to make that kind of impact in country music since Charley Pride. I’m almost entirely unfamiliar with Pride, but a quick scan of his biography shows what great company Rucker is in.
