Darius Rucker: 1st African American to Win Best New Artist CMA Award

Darius Rucker has done something special.

On Wednesday night, the Hootie and the Blowfish singer won his first Country Music Award as a solo artist and made a little bit of history at the same time.

Rucker, 43, became the first African American man to win the New Artist of the Year award for his solo album "Learn to Live."

"To the fans, thank y'all for accepting me," said Rucker. "And most importantly, to country radio, you took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C., and God bless y'all for that."

Rucker also received a nomination for Best Male Artist, which would have also made him just the second African American man to win that honor.  Charley Pride was the other.

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

As the frontman for Hootie and the Blowish, Rucker's career spanned seven albums, 16 hit singles and a total of 22 years, but he still wanted to prove something by staking his claim in the world of country music.

"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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