Quotes from Darius Rucker

When I'm singing a song, I'm in that song, and I'm thinking about what emotions I should bring to the song. Voicing a character was very similar. It was high energy, and I had to really think about the emotion of what was going on in the scene.

When I was in high school, I read all of Neil Simon's plays.

There's two times of year for me: Football season, and waiting for football season.

I used to love watching 'Hee Haw' on TV when I was a kid. My brothers and sisters weren't happy about it, but I just loved the music.

It was important to me to find a label that wouldn't back out after a first single. Everyone's so used to hearing me with Hootie, they're going to be skeptical.

I love jam bands, but I still like a three-and-a-half-minute rock song.

Music education was always big for me. Ever since I was a young kid, I always said it was the reason I went to school sometimes and knowing if I didn't do well in class that my mom wasn't gonna let me sing in school or sing at that concert.

I had an AM radio and listened to Al Green, Kenny Rogers, Stevie Wonder, Charley Pride and Cheap Trick - sometimes in the same hour on the same station!

I've been a Robert Randolph fan forever, since 2001. I just thought he was so cool; you don't see a black kid playing the slide the way he plays. No one plays like Robert.

I remember my brother was always a jerk to me. One time, he bought Jimi Hendrix's 'Smash Hits,' and he gave it to me because he didn't like it, thinking it was a punishment.

There are so many people who would like to see me not make it in Nashville. But that's good motivation.

As a kid, I was big into Al Green, Gladys Knight and the Pips, but as I got older, I started listening to all sorts of music, including country.

I love Christmas. I love the music... I love everything about Christmas. I'm a big fan.

Every time I make a record, it's make-or-break time. I hope I always have that mentality - that's what keeps me fired up.

It's hokey, but I love sitting in an inner tube and taking it easy on a lazy river ride. I can sit there all day.

I'm always trying to find myself little holes where I can do some songwriting.

I got turned onto the 'Pat Garrett' soundtrack when I worked retail back in the day.

Country music's so about the nuclear family and living the southern lifestyle and everything.

There's a lot of stuff I thought I'd do in the world, but I never thought I'd have a street named after me in my hometown. It's a great feeling.

One of the great reasons to be in Nashville is, you get guys like Shane McAnally to write songs with.

For me, the Mount Rushmore of greats would be Ric Flair, Dusty Rhodes, Hulk Hogan, Bruno Sammartino or Lou Thesz. You can do either one of them in that fourth spot. But I think Ric Flair is the greatest of all time. He's the greatest I've ever seen... on the mic and in the ring.

No doubt about it, country is a much more family-friendly business than pop.

We work so hard to stay true to country music. People can say they don't like it, but they can't say it's not country.

To have John Mellencamp compliment my songwriting? That was unreal.