Upon news that former Hootie & the Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker would release a country album in late summer 2008, some were skeptical and many more didn’t know what to expect from the project. What they got from Learn To Live’s lead single “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” (co-written by Rucker and Clay Mills) was a concise statement from the singer about moving on in a tight, well produced package. The track hit radio in May and hit Number 1 on the country charts in September, making Rucker the first African-American with a Number 1 country single since Charley Pride in 1983.
Though Rucker’s subject is a broken relationship, the title words and select offerings like certain words from the first verse, such as “Saw you in the rearview standin’/fadin’ from my life,” can almost be seen as a statement regarding his previous employment. The song sounds akin to Rucker’s previous work – just with a fiddle and pedal steel guitar thrown into the mix. However, this song paints a much more mature picture of Rucker than in the past when he cried over the Miami Dolphins and all he wanted to do was hold hands.
The song opens with a quick electric guitar arpeggio while thick bass and light percussion introduce Rucker’s tale of hitting the road after the end of a relationship that still haunts him. Rucker’s voice is mature and confident as he growls, “Don’t think you don’t get to me” towards the end of the track. Actually, the song seems like the logical step after Hootie & the Blowfish in its maturity and format. It’s more country than his previous southern rock efforts and it toes the pop line without overdoing it by leaving a couple of rough edges. Rucker shows that he hasn’t lost his knack for creating a catchy melody as “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” became one of the biggest country singles of the year.
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