This May, LIFE’S TOO SHORT: A Memoir by Darius Rucker, a raw, heartfelt memoir from the three-time Grammy Award–winning, multi-Diamond-selling lead singer of Hootie & the Blowfish and country music sensation arrives via Dey Street Books.
Raised by a single mother in Charleston, South Carolina, Rucker co-founded Hootie & the Blowfish with three classmates at the University of South Carolina in 1986. What began as a party band playing frat houses and dive bars quickly became a global rock pop phenomenon through their Double Diamond-certified debut album Cracked Rear View, featuring the era-defining hit songs “Only Wanna Be With You,” “Let Her Cry” and “Hold My Hand.” Rucker has since also charted a pioneering path as a solo Country music artist, with Diamond-certified hit “Wagon Wheel” plus timeless anthems such as “Alright” and “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It,” while sharing the stage and a mic with the likes of David Crosby, Al Green, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Adele, Taylor Swift, and more.
Now multiple decades into his illustrious career, Rucker tells the story of his life through the lens of the music that made him, including songs by everyone from Frank Sinatra and Stevie Wonder to R.E.M., KISS, Prince and, of course, his own music with Hootie and as a solo artist. He recounts the unlikely ascent of his band and wild tales of his road-hardened life—one filled with stumbles, missteps and battles with demons, but ultimately resulting in triumph. Candid, entertaining, and moving, LIFE’S TOO SHORT is a classic story of a man and his music.
“If I look back at my life and try to see into my past, everything seems blurry. But then I lean in and start to hear something. Melodies. Chords. Harmonies. Lyrics. This book is the story of my life as told through twenty-three songs that took me away, soaring, starting at ground level, living in a poor but happy home, never wanting for much more, enjoying what I had, even when times got tough, because I had my escape, my refuge, my music.” — Darius Rucker
MORE ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Darius Rucker is a three-time GRAMMY award-winning American singer, guitarist and songwriter. He first achieved multi-Platinum status as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of Hootie & the Blowfish, selling more than 25 million albums worldwide, including their Double-Diamond-certified debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 bestselling studio albums of all time. Since the release of his first Country album in 2008 via Capitol Records Nashville, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Country chart plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio including Diamond-certified hit “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top 10 Country songs of all time. Annually, Rucker lends his time and voice to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, MUSC, the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and others to raise money for charitable causes close to his heart.
