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Darius Rucker shoots for country music milestone

By CHRIS TALBOTT
Associated Press Writer

NASHVILLE, Tennessee (AP) - Darius Rucker was just a young boy with a love for "Hee Haw'' and FM radio when he made a discovery - and a decision - that would shape the rest of his life.

"When I was 4, I just kind of found these Beatles 45s,'' Rucker said. "I think I just said to myself, 'I'm never going to let anybody tell me what I can listen to.' And I never did. When I was sitting there watching 'Hee Haw,' my brother didn't want to watch it. He was older than me but there was going to be a friggin' fight if they didn't let me watch 'Hee Haw.'''

That mindset has led the singer best known as the frontman of Hootie and the Blowfish to a career renaissance in country music marked by the kind of success no one could have predicted and few other Black performers have experienced.

Rucker is up for two Country Music Association Awards and could join Charley Pride as the only African-Americans to win best male vocalist if he wins. And he has sold more than 1 million copies of his debut country CD, "Learn to Live.''

Both milestones are receiving a lot of attention, and Rucker enjoys the comparisons.

"You can't help but smile when someone mentions your name in the same sentence as Charley Pride,'' Rucker said.

It's been nearly 40 years since Pride, the best-selling African-American performer in country music, won entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist of the year in 1971-72, a feat not since repeated by a Black artist. Rucker, who also has a chance to be the first Black to win for new artist, will perform during Wednesday's live broadcast on ABC.

Pride's was one of the voices in that stewpot of influences that launched Rucker on his eclectic run through the rock and country charts.

"You have those memories of Charley Pride coming on 'Hee Haw' and doing his hits,'' Rucker said. "When I was 7, you could have Charley Pride and Buck Owens, Stevie Wonder and The Who on the same radio station.''

Pride thought he would be the first in a string of Black country music singers creating hits, and admits he is puzzled why it took so long for another to break through. (Ray Charles, a CMA Award nominee, sang some country songs and had a strong connection to the genre's audiences but was never considered country performer).

Pride has introduced fans to others over the years he thought might catch on, but never did.

"I don't know why,'' Pride said. "I think you need to go to the industry and ask them about that.''

There are only two Black performers in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - Pride and DeFord Bailey, who was a member of the early Grand Ole Opry cast.

Some Black singers like Lionel Richie, Solomon Burke, Esther Phillips and Al Green had fleeting success in country music on their way to other destinations, Country Hall of Fame historian Jay Orr said. And relatively recently, performers such as Stoney Edwards, Big Al Downing, Cleve Francis, Rissi Palmer and Cowboy Troy have registered on the country charts.

Pride figures he cleared most of the obstacles facing those who followed him. Signed by Chet Atkins in the midst of the civil rights movement, the platinum-voiced Mississippi native has had dozens of No. 1 hits and sold tens of millions of albums.

Perhaps his most significant achievement was disproving those who thought country's heavily Southern audience wouldn't support Black performers at a time when race relations were marked by violence.

"I never had even one hoot call from the audience in all these years,'' Pride said. "Not one iota of hoot calls. I know it happened to Jackie Robinson when he was in that same kind of position, sort of. I never had to go through nothing like that. Once I started singing they didn't care.''

Rucker's transition in this era has been seamless, too. The honey-coated baritone's music outweighs everything else and he's had three straight No. 1 singles.

"It seems clear to me that if I didn't deliver songs that country music fans wanted to hear, then radio wasn't going to play them,'' Rucker said. "

No matter the reason, Orr said Pride and Rucker stand alone in terms of album sales by African-Americans.

Rucker's not sure his success will clear the way for other Black performers to mine country music for hits. But he hopes it has opened some minds.

"I don't know if I proved it can work,'' he said. "But maybe someone will give a second listen now instead of just saying no.''

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On the Net:

http://www.dariusrucker.com 

http://www.charleypride.com 

http://www.cmaawards.com 

http://www.countrymusichalloffame.com 


 

Archaeological dig to shed light on Danville past

By DAVID BROCK
The Advocate-Messenger

DANVILLE, Ky. (AP) - Part of Danville's history has started to emerge from the layers of soil behind the Willis Russell House in Danville.

Centre College students joined professors, archaeologists, members of the Boyle County Landmark Trust and representatives from the Kentucky Heritage Council in beginning an archaeological survey of the site where the 200-year-old house sits.

The significance of the main two-story structure that has been preserved by the Landmark Trust is clear.

The structure is thought to have been built by Capt. Robert Craddock about 1811 and left to his former slave, Willis Russell, in 1836. Russell is believed to have lived in and used the building as Danville's first African-American schoolhouse.

The crews worked for two days in late October trying to ascertain whether there is enough evidence to warrant a more extensive excavation. Restoration of the two-story building will begin in the coming months, but the survey project eventually could lead to a clearer picture of where outbuildings were.

"Right now, we are conducting a Phase 1 survey,'' said Lori Stahlgren, archaeology review coordinator with the Kentucky Heritage Council. "The location of the deposits helps to tell us what used to be in the yard area. We are doing shovel tests, screening the dirt from the holes to see what we can find.''

So far, the digs have turned up artifacts that include ceramic pieces dating to between 1830-1860, nails, animal bones, glass and even a harmonica.

Julie Rodes, a board member of the Landmark Trust, said items have been found in the past without even having to dig.

"We always have several interesting things found when workers are here from the Heart of Kentucky United Way Day of Caring,'' Rodes said. "Hopefully, what they find here in the next two days will lead to a full-scale excavation.''

Tressa Brown, coordinator of the Kentucky African-American Heritage Commission, said the site's importance is only magnified by the change that has gone on around it.

"This was the main drag coming into Danville, and this really fills a gap not just in the African-American history of this place but the overall story,'' she said. "You had African-Americans, free and slave, businessmen, entrepreneurs. The whole range of socio-economic spectrum was here in this area, but urban renewal hasn't left many of the other buildings intact.''

The project has the added benefit of allowing some of Robyn Cutright's anthropology students to get their hands dirty on a real site.

"I can show them the layers in the classroom, but this gives them the opportunity to see what we do in the field,'' Cutright said. "They really learn so much more in a day of doing this.''

Rodes hopes the site one day will be restored and serve as an educational tool for the community.

"In the future, we would love to have schoolchildren be able to come in and have an experience similar to the Centre students,'' Rodes said.

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Information from: The Advocate-Messenger, http://www.amnews.com 


 

Randy Phillips wants to leave Miami on a high note

By TIM REYNOLDS
AP Sports Writer

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (AP) - Miami safety Randy Phillips is one of 19 brothers and sisters. Then there is his father and grandmother and a slew of aunts, uncles and cousins, plus a girlfriend and a charming son who turns 3 next month.

They all look to him as the family leader.

And then there's the 90-some-odd other brothers inside the Miami locker room, guys who seek Phillips' counsel on everything from fatherhood to schoolwork to football and just about anything in between.

They all look to him as the family leader, too.

"I guess it's what I'm supposed to be,'' Phillips said.

Maybe his grandmother was on to something. As the story goes, she picked Phillips up when he was a baby and decided to call him "Big Man,'' a nickname that has stuck throughout his 23 years. It used to be only a moniker. These days, as his college career at Miami is in its final weeks, Phillips looks at the name as a measure of responsibility - both to his family and his team.

He's played sick. He's playing hurt now, with a torn shoulder that will need surgery after the season and causes so much pain that his time on the field is, at best, minimal. But he's still there.

Big Man, indeed.

"The thing that you always like about Randy is he may get down, but he gets back on track real quick,'' Miami coach Randy Shannon said. "He has a lot of pride in what he's doing. He has a lot of pride in himself. And when things go back, he picks his head up because he knows things could be worse. Coming from where he's from, he's seen a lot worse.''

If it sounds like Shannon has a special affinity with Phillips, it's because he does.

Shannon's job is to win football games, plain and simple. And the Hurricanes (7-2, 4-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) are surely better with Phillips than without him. But when Phillips got hurt against Virginia Tech - all the way back in Game 3 of the season - it didn't take Shannon long to decide not to decide anything on the player's behalf.

Phillips has a family to worry about. And yes, he does have his degree from Miami, but is hoping for NFL dollars. Knowing that, Shannon did not pressure Phillips about playing again on Saturdays in 2009, for fear that he could wreck his shot for Sundays in 2010.

"I've seen some guys here, their careers were done injury-wise,'' Shannon said. "That's the one thing that comes to my mind. Me and the doctors, we always talk about, 'What happens if he does play?' ... Those are the things we do.''

Phillips expected nothing less from Shannon than understanding, which is what he received.

There's a reason why Shannon is remarkably popular among his players: Many of them see a lot of themselves in the coach. Phillips comes from a rough background, financially strapped upbringing, his mother died 17 years ago. Shannon, same thing: Father was killed when he was 3, siblings died of AIDS and fell victim to life on the streets, and he rose above it all.

"Coach Shannon means everything to me,'' Phillips said. "He's an example of an African-American man who's in college football and is what society needs right now, especially in South Florida. He's always been there for me in the hard times. He's my inspiration. He picks me up when I'm down, helps me with my career and making the right decisions with my son, being in the right place, being a man.''

Phillips is from the sun-baked town of Belle Glade, Fla., about an hour north of Coral Gables. Belle Glade's a place troubled by gang violence, drug use and unemployment. Football is the ticket out of town, and Phillips used it proudly, becoming the first in his family to attend college.

He briefly considered leaving after last season - degree in hand - but decided to apply for a fifth season, and the NCAA obliged.

"I think the best thing about Randy Phillips is he's a leader,'' Miami quarterback Jacory Harris said. "He's like a coach on the field for our defense. I think he takes a lot of pride in setting the example around here.''

Phillips' reason for returning was simple: He wanted to leave Miami's program better than he found it.

The class that will play their final game for the Hurricanes in a couple of months - especially if Miami finishes this regular season 10-2, a goal that's three victories away - can say they've done that, Phillips said.

"I'm taking every day here like it's my last, to get the best and most out of it and get ready for the next level,'' Phillips said. "I think about this a lot: When I got here, the program was good, but we weren't having a season like we're having now. People said the class I came in with was the reason why we fell off. Well, we're being recognized nationally again. That's a great feeling.''



 

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