Photo: Getty Images
Darius Rucker paid a heartfelt tribute to his late mother with the release of his highly-anticipated seventh full-length studio album, Carolyn’s Boy, featuring a star-studded list of collaborators and songwriters. The 14-track record, Rucker’s first solo collection in six years, made its debut on Friday (October 6).
Rucker’s mother was a nurse at Medical University of South Carolina, raising her now-superstar son and his five siblings (three sisters and two brothers). Rucker immediately knew which photo of his mother to select as the album artwork when he decided on the name Carolyn’s Boy. He said what’s now the album artwork is “our favorite family picture. Like, every family member has that picture in their house.
“My mom was 25 at the time. I think it’s her nursing school picture and we all have it,” Rucker continued, her his record label. “And so, I knew what picture I was going to use, and she instilled everything in me that’s good. You know, my philanthropy, the way I care about people, being nice all the time, those are all things that my mom, my mom used to say all the time, ‘It’s so much easier to be nice than to be a jerk,’ but she didn’t say jerk. That wasn’t the word she used,” he said with a laugh. “But, everything good in me she instilled in me and I always believe that I hope that I became the man that she was trying to raise.”
Carolyn’s Boy includes a few previously-released songs, including “Beers And Sunshine,” “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” “Ol’ Church Hymn” with Chapel Hart, and “Same Beer Different Problem.” Rucker co-wrote 10 of the 14 tracks, teaming up with respected songwriters like Ed Sheeran, HARDY, John Osborne, Ross Copperman, Josh Osborne, Lady A’s Charles Kelley and others, his record label noted. The full project’s release comes two days after Rucker received his star on the Music City Walk of Fame in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I wanted to name the record Carolyn’s Boy because Mom never got to see any of my success,” Rucker said, per his label. “She died before any of this happened, so it’s just another homage to the greatest woman I’ve ever known.”
Find the full Carolyn’s Boy album on iHeartRadio here, and see the full track list blow.
“Beers and Sunshine”
- Beers And Sunshine (Darius Rucker, JT Harding, Josh Osborne, Ross Copperman)
- In This Together (Darius Rucker, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick, Joy Williams)
- Never Been Over (Darius Rucker, Lee Thomas Miller, John Osborne)
- Fires Don’t Start Themselves (Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice, Dan Isbell)
- Ol’ Church Hymn feat. Chapel Hart (Darius Rucker, Greylan James, Ben Hayslip, Josh Miller)
- 7 Days (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley, Charles Kelley)
- Same Beer Different Problem (Darius Rucker, Tofer Brown, Sarah Buxton, Brad Tursi)
- Sara (Darius Rucker, Joel Crouse, Kyle Rife, Ed Sheeran)
- Have A Good Time (Darius Rucker, Monty Criswell, Derek George, Bobby Hamrick)
- Sure Would Have Loved Her (Darius Rucker, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowrey)
- Southern Comfort (Chris LaCorte, Matt Rogers, Josh Osborne)
- 3am in Carolina (Darius Rucker, Ross Copperman, Michael Hardy)
- Lift Me Up (Temilade Openiyi, Robyn Fenty, Ryan Coogler, Ludwig Goransson)
- Stargazing (Darius Rucker, Brinley Addington, Jess Cayne, Matt Morrisey)