Why Darius Rucker Nearly Refused to Record a Song After Hearing Chris Stapleton's Version: 'I Didn't Want to Sing It'

Rucker worked with Stapleton on his 2010 album ‘Charleston, SC 1966'

NEED TO KNOW

• Darius Rucker opened up about nearly refusing to record a certain song after hearing Chris Stapleton’s demo
• “He had done it so well,” the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman said on Absolute Radio Country, referring to the track “Come Back Song”
• Rucker worked with Stapleton on his 2010 LP Charleston, SC 1966

Darius Rucker opened up about how he nearly refused to cut a song after hearing the version Chris Stapleton recorded.

During a Saturday, April 4 appearance on Absolute Radio Country, the Hootie & the Blowfish frontman recalled working with the "White Horse" performer on his 2010 album Charleston, SC 1966 — and how intimidating it was for him to record a version of the 2010 hit "Come Back Song."

“Now I want to talk about an iconic country artist who worked with me on my album Charleston, SC 1966. Chris Stapleton. I’ve written a few times with Chris, and he is an amazing songwriter and an amazing singer," said Rucker, now 59, of the track, which Stapleton, now 47, co-wrote.

.@DariusRucker worked with @ChrisStapleton to bring his chart-topping hit "Come Back Song" to life! ✌️
Join Darius Sunday nights from 7pm on Absolute Radio Country or listen back on @HelloRayoUK. pic.twitter.com/NExp7eRiEB

— Absolute Radio Country (@ARCountry) April 3, 2026

He continued: "We wrote this song and we were about to record the record and my producer says, ‘What do you think about this song?’ And I was like, ‘Man, I don’t know if I feel it.’ So we record every day, and every day, my producer asks me about this song. He says, ‘Why don’t you want to cut this song?’

Rucker then admitted why he was hesitant to make his own version of the songs.

"It’s the last day (when he asks this). I was like, ‘Man, have you heard the demo?’ Chris had sung the demo and it was so great, I didn’t want to sing it, because he had done it so well," he said.

The "Wagon Wheel" singer waited to record the song until the last minute.

“My producer was like, ‘We’ll change the key, cut it, and if you don’t like it, we won’t put it on the record.’ And of course, it was the first single on the record, and one of my fastest moving songs to number one. (It was) ‘Come Back Song,'” said Rucker. The track peaked at No. 1 on Billboard's U.S. Hot Country Songs chart.

Stapleton also co-wrote Rucker's track "Forever Road," from his 2008 album Learn to Live.

In December, Rucker shared fan footage of him delivering an impromptu performance inside of a Nashville airport. 

“Walking in the Nashville airport means seeing Darius Rucker singing one song and maybe 15 people stopping,” the fan wrote over the clip, which the Grammy-winning musician shared to Instagram. 

The video — which featured a decorated Christmas tree in the background — Rucker performing in the airport by himself with a mic stand and guitar while wearing a baseball cap and glasses.

“Keep your head on a swivel!” he captioned the footage alongside two laughing emojis, adding that the original video was taken by a passerby named MaryCate McNamara.