Already an emotional cornerstone of recent album Carolyn’s Boy from three-time GRAMMY Award-winner Darius Rucker, standout song “Never Been Over” now arrives as a duet with the captivating vocals of GRAMMY Award-winning entertainment powerhouse Jennifer Nettles adding a new dimension to the emotional ballad. Listen HERE.
Penned by Rucker alongside Lee Thomas Miller and Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne, the original release of “Never Been Over” was celebrated by Billboard as a flipped perspective to Rucker’s chart-topping “It Won’t Be Like This For Long,” with the reflective song “looking back on a couple’s love nearly two decades later, chronicling years of emotional zeniths and low points, a duration spent raising kids and building a life together one day at a time”:
We’ve been good and bad, hot and cold
And fightin’ mad, solid gold
Been sunny days, straight-line winds
Been drivin’ slow and guilty as sin
Been back roads lost and blue lights found
Dead of quiet, rockstar loud
Been up and down like we’re built on springs
We’ve been a lot of things
But we’ve never been
Splittin’ up friends, splittin’ up records
Puttin’ up walls, burnin’ down letters
Grass is greener ‘cause there’s something better
Waitin’ down the line
We’ve never been a headlights weaving, taillights fadin’
So long, move on, goodbye waitin’
Never been one last long look across your shoulder
We’ve been a lot of things, but we’ve never been over
“Writing that was very cathartic,” Rucker shared with Garden & Gun of the song. “It was almost like therapy for me. It’s so honest and one of my favorite songs I’ve ever written.”
“Now, to have Jennifer add her incredible voice to such an emotional song, you feel even more of what this couple is facing; unravelling the life they’ve built together,” reflects Rucker. “I’m so grateful she agreed to sing on it with me.”
“I’ve wanted to collaborate with Darius for such a long time! And when I heard the song, I loved its story,” adds Nettles. “But in addition to its theme of lifelong love, it feels so perfect for Darius and I to sing it together. Both of our careers have grown and changed so dramatically since we each started out. And, as the hook sings, ‘We’ve been a lot of things, but we’ve never been over.’ This song is a beautiful example and extension of that constant evolution.”
Currently on the road in Europe for a run of solo shows ahead of this summer’s Hootie & the Blowfish Summer Camp with Trucks Tour, Rucker is also preparing to share his first book with fans, a memoir titled “Life’s Too Short.” Set for release May 28, the memoir sees Rucker share the story of his life through the music that has defined it, offering readers an intimate glimpse into his journey from music enthusiast to music icon. Pre-order HERE.
For more information, visit DariusRucker.com and follow on social media @DariusRucker.
Courtesy of Capitol Records Nashville
About Darius Rucker
Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. His brand-new album Carolyn’s Boy is available everywhere now and his first book, a memoir titled “Learn to Live” is set for release via Dey Street Books on May 28.
As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children's Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has raised over $3.6 million for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. In addition, Rucker has advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn. Rucker is also an avid sports fan, with his Darius Rucker Collection by Fanatics line of NFL, MLB and NCAA apparel available at Fanatics.com, and he is part of the Music City Baseball investment group working to bring an MLB team to Tennessee in addition to serving as a partner at the MGC Sports & Entertainment agency.
About Jennifer Nettles
Jennifer Nettles is a GRAMMY-winning, Emmy-winning superstar entertainer on multiple platforms. She most recently appeared in Blumhouse’s new take of “The Exorcist” and returns seasonally in the HBO hit series “The Righteous Gemstones” as series favorite Aimee-Leigh. She also delivered a powerful and provocative performance in Focus Features’ Harriet Tubman biopic. Musically she recently earned an Emmy for Best Original Song for “Life is Sweet" featured in PBS’s “American Anthems.” Her latest solo album release was a genre-defying collection of American songbook classics entitled Always Like New.
As half of the multi-Platinum Country duo Sugarland, she most recently announced a new tour upcoming this fall together with the band Little Big Town, along with the release of a new single cover of Phil Collins’ hit “Take Me Home.” Sugarland’s song “Stay,” written solely by Jennifer, was a Platinum No. 1 hit which earned her two GRAMMY Awards for Best Country Song as writer and Best Country Performance by a Duo or Group. Nettles also earned a third GRAMMY for her collaboration with Bon Jovi on “Who Says You Can't Go Home.” Her other achievements in music include five ASCAP awards, six ACM Awards, five CMA Awards, the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally for Equality Award and the Artist Impact Award from Lincoln Center. Nettles made her Broadway debut in 2015 as Roxy Hart in the Tony Award-winning, record-breaking musical “Chicago,” and starred as Donna in the Hollywood Bowl’s summer production of “Mamma Mia!” as well as most recently starring as Jenna in the smash hit musical “Waitress.” She is also the host of Fox’s unscripted series “Farmer Wants a Wife.” She is currently developing a Broadway musical about 17th century crusading poisoner Giulia Tofana.