Spinner

Darius Rucker Welcomes the Hootie Hoots

If you're in your local Starbucks and you just happen to see Darius Rucker walk by, go ahead and yell "Hey, Hootie!" No, we're not trying to punk you. He actually doesn't mind that, these days. In fact, he kind of likes it. Rucker, who propelled to mega-stardom in the mid-'90s as the frontman for Hootie and the Blowfish, tells Spinner that people don't mistakenly call him Hootie much anymore.

"But if they do, I'm glad because they still know who I am and they're calling me. I'm down with that," he says. "After being in the limelight for 15 years, you're just glad that people still know who you are. Especially when I've lost some weight and I'm not the fat hippie anymore."

Of course, we don't only remember Rucker in the role of Hootie; we also remember him as being the fat hippie in the Burger King commercial. The one that, when it came on, we always said, "Hey look! Hootie is doing a Burger King commercial!"

But get it in now on the Hootie hoots while you can -- Rucker also tells Spinner that, apart from their annual charity gigs, Hootie and the Blowfish will be taking a five or six year hiatus while he pursues a solo career in country music. If you think we saw any of this coming, you thought wrong.



All the AOL Music info you want to know

Jessie James 'When You Say My Name'…

The Boot

David Livingston, Getty Images Straight out of high school, Jessie James had…

Nicki Minaj, Jay-Z Are the Same Person?…

The Boombox

Getty Images Is Nicki Minaj really Jay-Z? Can you prove otherwise? A recent…

Madonna Stalker Escapes From Mental…

AOL Music Blog

Ferdaus Shamim, WireImage LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police are asking for the…

See all AOL Music »

Add a Comment

Sign in »
*0 / 3000 Character Maximum

14 Comments

Filter by:
Kelley

Darius and the rest of the Blowfish sat in the row in front of me at an Elton John concert last November.
They seemed to be having a great time being there together.
Hell, I even named my cat Hootie, in his honor!!

September 14 2008 at 6:19 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Alicia

I got to see 'Hootie' over the summer at the Grand Ole Opry and he sounded great!

September 12 2008 at 5:45 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Tamara

Hootie will always rock my socks! They're GREAT in concert!

September 12 2008 at 1:41 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
luvmysis56

HEY THERE....HUH....HE IS MINE..............HA

September 12 2008 at 12:16 PM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Will1682

So hard to believe that its been 13-14 years since Cracked Rear View exploded onto the scene. I still remember riding in the car, listening to the countdown and Time was #1 on the charts. All their albums had good music, they just overloaded in 95-96. They should have waited a couple years before releasing Fairweather Johnson.

September 12 2008 at 11:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
scriptwtr

Good for Hootie. I know what it's like to try and lose weight. I lost 47 pounds in 6 weeks using the Rapidthin diet at www.rapidthin.com. Good luck to all. Use what works for you.

September 12 2008 at 10:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
1 reply to scriptwtr's comment
doug dieter

Betca gain it back + more in five years!!

September 12 2008 at 11:31 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
shafali

I dont really recall him being fat? But anyway he still looks great and I'm glad he doesnt get mad at people calling him Hootie anymore, i do recall that used to make him pretty mad.

September 12 2008 at 9:52 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
Chester

Hootie is kick-ass. dont matter whether it's Hootie or Darius!!!

September 12 2008 at 9:39 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
unitedxvi

Darius Rucker was great as Hootie, and I think he will have a successful time persuing country music. "Don't think I don't think about it" is a great country song, and its nice to see him back.

September 12 2008 at 9:27 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply
unitedxvi

Darius Rucker was great as Hootie, and I think he will have a successful time persuing country music. "Don't think I don't think about it" is a great country song, and its nice to see him back.

September 12 2008 at 9:26 AM Report abuse rate up rate down Reply