Three years after his Burger King ad (and six years after his failed R & B solo debut), Darius “Hootie” Rucker is trying make his country move legit. His new single, “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It”‘ has broken Billboard’s Country Top 50, and his upcoming as-yet-untitled album may be the next big pop crossover. But don’t think Darius is just following the bandwagon: His love for the genre is as true as his love for holding hands.

t’s an easy out for artists both country and otherwise to try to gain credibility by name-dropping Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson, for example, but Rucker has a genuine affection for the music.

“I think my biggest country influence is Radney Foster,” Rucker says, citing Lyle Lovett, New Grass Revival and Dwight Yoakam as other examples. “The first time I heard Foster & Lloyd’s ‘Crazy Over You’ on TV, I went into the record store where I worked early so that I could open the album and hear it.”

Still, he understands if there’s skepticism about his intentions. “You see a lot of people doing a one-off, saying, ‘This is my country record.’ But this is a career I’m trying to build. The people that say that they don’t get it, I’ll let the music speak for itself. I plan to do a lot of country records.”

But why limit yourself, Hoot? Country, R & B, lightweight bar band crap–you are a renaissance man. You’ve even taken on reggae! “War,” mon!

Gnarly and yarly. No reason this restless soul can’t have it all.

Darius Rucker follows his heart – to country music [Reuters]
Hootie’s Burger King Commercial [YouTube]
Darius Rucker – War (Live) [YouTube]