Hootie & The Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker has assured fans his country music success doesn't mean the end for his rock band - they're already making plans for a new album.

The singer has become only the third African-American to top the country charts - a feat he has achieved twice with tracks from his new solo album Learn To Live - but the switch to his new roots sound hasn't made him turn his back on his bandmates.

But he doesn't have plans to hit the road with Hootie & The Blowfish anytime soon.

Rucker says, "We're still together. We'll make a record and do another tour sometime years from now, but I'm a country singer now."

And he's thrilled when people don't recognize him as 'Hootie'.

He explains, "I had one of the greatest experiences of my life ever the other day - I go to Baltimore to see my eldest daughter and I go the hotel and the hotel clerk looks at me and she says, 'Are you Darius Rucker, the country singer?' My heart just started to flutter. I went, 'Yes I am'. That was awesome."

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(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)