Superlatives
A Vulture series in which artists judge the best and worst of their own careers.
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For almost his entire life,Darius Ruckerhas been obsessed with music.
I listen to a song I love not for hours, but for days, Rucker writes.
I listen until the song inserts itself into me, until it becomes a part of my soul.
1 for a Black man in 25 years.
Favorite song to play live
Oh, goodness.
You know, it varies.
If you just talk about my songs, I mean, gotta be Let Her Cry.
Even today, I hit that G and start singing, and everybody knows the song.
The melody, the background vocals, Marks guitar riffs its just Hootie.
Hootie album that never got its due
I thoughtFairweather Johnsonwas a better record thanCracked Rear View.
But what do I know Im in the band.
Song that made you realize you could make country music
That was All I Want.
When we cut it, I was like,Thats exactly what I wanna do.
And the thing I loved was it was old-school country.
What sticks to me is back in the club days.
I think it was the Brewery in Raleigh.
And we told him, Dude, whyd you do that?
It was like,See?
Duet partner who outsang you
Adele!
[Laughs] I mean, its not even close.
Yeah, she crushed me that night.
I listened back to it.
I brought it, but God, shes so amazing.
I really thought that Exodus was gonna be a big hit.
And Wild One, honestly.
I was up at Jazzy Jeffs place in Philly and we were just writing those in the studio.
And I was like, Oh my goodness!
Id never written like that.
Were starting with a track, were starting with the drum and bass or something to get the grooves.
I always just sat down with a guitar and wrote songs.
I was like,Man, I didnt know you could do it like this.
[Laughs] When we go over to Europe, we play Wild One and Exodus.
I love that record, I always will.
Because ofall the thingsthat were against me,andI couldnt believe we were putting out a ballad.
I know how much radio loves tempo.
But thats the song they wanted to go with.
When I was told it was No.
1, it was a great moment in my career.
Hootie song thats deeper than people know
Oh, Hold My Hand.
So much was going on Soniwrote that in 89 or something.
It was a different America back then.
I love that song.
The moment he played it, I went, That is awesome.
It was the reason he got in the band.
Song that shouldve been a single
Hands on Me, off ofWhen Was the Last Time.
We play it still.
I thought that song was gonna be a smash.
But like I say all the time, I dont pick singles.
Ill go the way you wanna go.
You know radio better than I do.
I thought that song was a no-brainer, but we didnt put it out.
Hootie song you missed playing on hiatus
I missed playing I Will Wait.
Im just playing the hits.
I wanna play I Will Wait with Hootie because thatsus.
Song you didnt write that feels like you did
If I Told You.
I really wish I had written that song.
