Skip to Search Skip to Live Player Skip to Content Skip to Footer

Coyote Music News

Coyote Music News

Coyote Music News

Darius Rucker: Country Music’s ‘Elder Statesman’

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

Darius Rucker has been having hits in country music for over a decade now, and he became a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2012, calling it one of the biggest honors of his lifetime.

Darius is now what he calls an “elder statesman” in country music, and it’s a role he cherishes. He told us, “Coming here sixteen years ago as the outsider, it took me a minute before I felt comfortable. And then I felt comfortable after a couple of years, and then the Opry happened, and I felt like I was born again.”

He added, “I’m becoming one of the elder statesmen now. I’ve been here for almost sixteen years doing this, and it just feels right. It feels like a no-brainer now. There’s no trepidation… ” He pauses and says, “Hey, I just used trepidation in a sentence (laughs). I am so proud of myself right now. But you know, there’s no bad part to it. I’m part of the landscape. I’m part of what country music is, and I’m very proud.”

RELATED: Darius Rucker Honored With CMA’ Humanitarian Of The Year Award’

Rucker says that he feels like he is in a place to help others coming into country music after him. He said, “I definitely feel an obligation to be there for people. I have a bunch of friends in Nashville who are up-and-coming artists who call me and ask me questions and ask for advice and everything, and that’s important to me.”

Darius recalled when his friend from Lady A reminded him of his role in the genre. He said, “Charles Kelley called me a few years ago when George Strait retired. He called me up and said, ‘Did you hear what happened? George, quit,’ and I said, ‘Really?’ He said, ‘You know what that means? It means you’re the oldest guy on country radio’ (Darius laughs).”

Rucker concluded, “It’s a great place to be, especially with the African-American artists that are coming up. When I was coming through, there was no one to talk to. I’d talk to Charley (Pride) once in a while, but he wasn’t on the radio anymore, and it had been twenty-five years since he’d been on the radio.”

Five Of Country Music's Biggest Givers

  • Carrie Underwood

    Carrie has always been a giver and offers her name to several charities. Most recently, she made a significant donation to the Tunnel to Towers Foundation of $420,316. The money was  raised by her fans who bought tickets to her 43-city arena tour, “The Denim & Rhinestones Tour.” This contribution will go directly towards supporting America’s heroes and their families. Carrie said, “I’m so proud of the fans that came out to the tour and making this donation possible. They have always shown up to support great organizations like Tunnel To Towers, making the world a better place while coming out to see us.”

    Since early in her career, Underwood has designated a portion of ticket sales from her tours to support worthwhile charities and organizations. In 2009, her C.A.T.S. Foundation was created to help to improve Checotah, Oklahoma, by assisting with causes, fulfilling needs, and providing services to the community and surrounding area.

  • Brad Paisley

    Brad and his wife Kimberly Paisley started The Store in Nashville, a nonprofit free-referral-based grocery store that they co-founded. Brad said when he and his wife broke ground on The Store in 2019, “Our goal is to give dignity to parents. They can go to The Store and shop in a completely normal way, from choosing the food to checking out, but with no money exchanging hands. The kids can even ride a mechanical pony out in front of The Store – no charge. Kids do not need the stress of wondering how their parents are going to feed them. In Nashville, we have the power of the benevolence of the residents to support The Store.”

  • Miranda Lambert

    Miranda’s love of animals is legendary in Music City. Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation and Tractor Supply Company teamed up for the third consecutive year in June to donate more than $250,000 to animal shelters nationwide. Through MuttNation’s Mutts Across America program, one outstanding shelter or foster-based rescue in every state is being honored with a surprise $5,000 grant.

    Miranda said, “Mutts Across America is MuttNation’s cornerstone – it was our first signature program. These grants give us the chance to show our appreciation and spotlight shelters across the country for their hard work, year-round, to improve the lives of shelter pets. We’re so proud to partner with Tractor Supply on this and other programs, allowing us to elevate our goals and increase the number of animals’ lives we can change.”

    Since the initiative’s origin nine years ago, MuttNation’s Mutts Across America has supported more than 450 shelters with over $1.75 million in grants.

  • Darius Rucker

    Fifteen years ago, Darius first visited St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. The organization moved him, and he was immediately inspired to pledge his support. Rucker continues to do so via his annual benefit concert, “Darius & Friends.”  The shows have surpassed the $3.6 million mark with this year’s 14th annual “Darius and Friends” benefit concert in June (6/5). The event is paired with a corresponding golf tournament and silent auction. This year’s event raised an all-time high of $560,000 for the cause.

    The decade-plus history of “Darius & Friends.” Prior guests have included Lauren Alaina, Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Sheryl Crow, Charles Kelley of Lady A, Ashley McBryde, A.J. McLean of the Backstreet Boys, Brad Paisley, Kenny Rogers and Tommy Thayer of KISS, among many others.

  • Dolly Parton

    Dolly’s kindness knows no bounds, and she’s been giving back since she began receiving early in her carer. Dolly started the Imagination Library in 1995, and since that time has expanded to give books monthly to children all over the world. In 2023, the program has gifted over 213 million books to children.

    Then there is the million-dollar donation to Vanderbilt and Moderna for research on the COVID-19 vaccine in 2020. In November of 2022, Parton received the Bezos Courage and Civility Award, which comes with $100 million to distribute to the charities of her choice. Jeff Bezos told CNN, “Look at what she’s done, and the way she’s led her life and the way she’s done is bold things and always with civility and kindness. She’s a unifier. You know we have big problems in the world, and the way you get big problems done is you have to work together.” He added, “We have too many examples of conflict and people using attacks on social media and so and so. You won’t find Dolly Parton doing that.”

    Bezos’ partner Lauren Sanchez added, “And when you think of Dolly, look, everyone smiles, right? And all she wants to do is bring light into other people’s worlds, that’s all. And so we couldn’t have thought of someone better than to give this award to Dolly.”

Nancy Brooks has been working in the country music industry for almost 30 years. She has interviewed pretty much any country star you can think of. In the late 1990s, she started working with Dolly Parton. And yes, Nancy reports that Parton is as sweet as you would think. She loves her life in country music and has been backstage at every CMA Awards show since the late 1990s. Many of her stories are from her one-on-one interviews. She was there at the beginning of the incredible careers of many music superstars today, including Taylor Swift, Shania Twain, and Blake Shelton, and has interviewed them multiple times throughout the years.

Get The Coyote Country Chronicle Newsletter Sent To Your Inbox

Enjoy the latest Country music, entertainment, Las Vegas happenings you need know, plus exclusive contests, games, and more.

*
By clicking "Subscribe" I agree to the website's terms of Service and Privacy Policy. I understand I can unsubscribe at any time.
Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group
Category:
Tags:
,,

More 107.9 Coyote Country

Load More