''Back to Then'' is the first studio album by the American singer

Darius Rucker Darius Carlos Rucker (born May 13, 1966) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Ca ...

, lead singer of

Hootie & The Blowfish Hootie & the Blowfish are an American soft rock band that were formed in Columbia, South Carolina, in 1986. The band's lineup for most of its existence has been the quartet of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld. The band w ...

. The album was a departure for him as this project was an R&B album, as compared to his group's

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

work and his later country solo albums. The song "This Is My World" was used in the soundtrack for the film, ''

Shallow Hal ''Shallow Hal'' is a 2001 American romantic comedy film starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Jack Black about a shallow man who falls in love with a 300-pound woman after being hypnotized into only seeing a person's inner beauty. Directed by the Farrelly ...

''.

Track listing

#"Wild One" ( Vidal Davis, Andre Harris,

Ryan Toby City High was an American R&B/ hip hop trio consisting of rappers/singers Ryan Toby, Robbie Pardlo, and Claudette Ortiz. City High is best known for their song " What Would You Do?", which earned a Grammy nomination. Career In 2001, City High ...

) – 3:38 #"Exodus" (

Carvin Haggins Carvin & Ivan are a production duo from Philadelphia consisting of producer and songwriters Ivan "Orthodox" Barias and Carvin "Ransum" Haggins. Initially starting out as solo hip hop artists, Haggins and Barias moved into production and songwrit ...

, Darren Henson, Keith Pelzer) – 4:11 #"Sometimes I Wonder" (featuring Jill Scott) (Davis, Aja Graydon, Harris,

, Jill Scott) – 4:14 #"Back to Then" (Harris, Kipper Jones, Rucker, Derek Washington) – 4:58 #"This Is My World" (Henson, Pelzer, Rucker, Kenna Zemedkun) – 5:05 #"I'm Glad You're Mine" (

Al Green Albert Leornes Greene (born April 13, 1946), better known as Al Green, is an American singer, songwriter, pastor and record producer best known for recording a series of soul hit singles in the early 1970s, including " Take Me to the River", ...

) – 3:05 #"Butterfly" (Peter Black) – 4:31 #"Hold On" (

Jimmy Cozier Jimmy Cozier (born February 6, 1977) is an American R&B singer and songwriter. He is best known for his hit single "She's All I Got" and for being one of the inaugural artists signed to Clive Davis' J Records label. Biography The son of Guyane ...

, Justin Cozier, S. Phillips, Rucker) – 4:06 #"Ten Years" ( Edward Ferrell,

Darren Lighty Darren Lighty (born April 6, 1969 in Paterson, New Jersey) is an American hip-hop and R&B record producer and songwriter. Lighty got his initial start in the industry as part of the group The Flex, which also included his brother Cliff Lighty ...

Cynthia Loving Cynthia Karen Loving (born November 19, 1978), known professionally as Lil' Mo, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, television and radio personality. She is best known for her 2001 single " Superwoman Pt. II", featuring then-unknown rapper ...

, Rucker) – 3:56 #"One More Night" (Jazz Nixon, Rucker) – 4:17 #"

Amazing Grace "Amazing Grace" is a Christian hymn published in 1779 with words written in 1772 by English Anglican clergyman and poet John Newton (1725–1807). It is an immensely popular hymn, particularly in the United States, where it is used for both ...

" (Interlude) (

John Newton John Newton (; – 21 December 1807) was an English evangelical Anglican cleric and slavery abolitionist. He had previously been a captain of slave ships and an investor in the slave trade. He served as a sailor in the Royal Navy (after forc ...

) – 0:48 #"Somewhere" (Daniel Johnson, Nixon, Rucker) – 3:41 ♯ #"Sleeping in My Bed" (featuring

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...

) (Darrell Allamby, Calvin Broadus, Kenneth Dickerson, Antoinette Roberson, Rucker) – 4:43 ♯ – Track 12, "Somewhere" (13:18 long on the CD mix), contains a piano version of "Ten Years" as a hidden track.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes. * Darrell "Delite" Allamby –

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

(track 13) * Arden Altino – co-producer (track 8) * Davis Barnett –

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

(track 5) * Rob Chiarelli – mixing (tracks 1-5) * Chris Conway –

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

(track 8) *

– producer, vocal

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

s, and backing vocals (track 8) * Mike Davis –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the Standing wave, air column ...

(track 10) *

Vidal Davis Dre & Vidal is a songwriting and production duo consisting of Andre Harris and Vidal Davis, who are best known as the main producers for Jill Scott and Glenn Lewis. Alumni of DJ Jazzy Jeff's A Touch of Jazz production team, Dre & Vidal were also ...

– producer (tracks 1, 3, 4), engineer and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(track 3) * Ivan Dupée – producer, engineer, mixing, programming,

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tension ...

drum programming Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices and computer software, such as sequencers and workstations or hardware synthesizers, sampler and sequencers, to generate sounds of musical instruments. These mus ...

Fender Rhodes The Rhodes piano (also known as the Fender Rhodes piano) is an electric piano invented by Harold Rhodes, which became popular in the 1970s. Like a conventional piano, the Rhodes generates sound with keys and hammers, but instead of strings, th ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

, and vocal arrangements (track 13) *

Ethan Farmer Ethan Diante Farmer (born May 31, 1975), also known as "EBASSMAN", is an American bassist, and played on the releases of Grammy Award-winning artists including Aretha Franklin (''Aretha Franklin Sings the Great Diva Classics''), Sean Combs ('' Pr ...

– bass guitar (track 12) * Edward "DJ Eddie F" Ferrell – producer, arrangements, drum programming, and instrumentation (track 9) * Erik Ferrell – assistant engineer (track 9) * Brian Garten – engineer (track 6) * Serban Ghenea – engineer (tracks 1, 2, 4) * Ask Giz – engineer (track 9) * Larry Gold –

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

(track 3),

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

(track 5) *

Vivian Green Vivian Sakiyyah Green (born May 22, 1979) is an American R&B singer-songwriter and pianist. Early life Green was born May 22, 1979 in the East Oak Lane neighborhood of Philadelphia, and took an interest in singing, playing the piano, and ...

– backing vocals (track 4) *

– producer and backing vocals (track 2) *

Woody Harrelson Woodrow Tracy Harrelson (born July 23, 1961) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

– backing vocals (track 8) *

Andre Harris Andre "Dre" Harris is an American songwriter and record producer. Biography Born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Harris grew up in a city known for its contributions to Black American music, namely the sub-genre of Philly soul. De ...

– producer (tracks 1, 3, 4), engineer and

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

(track 3) * Keith Henderson –

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

(track 13) * Darren Henson – producer (tracks 2, 5) * Shawn Hibbler – drum fills and

hi-hat A hi-hat (hihat, high-hat, etc.) is a combination of two cymbals and a pedal, all mounted on a metal stand. It is a part of the standard drum kit used by drummers in many styles of music including rock, pop, jazz, and blues. Hi-hats consist o ...

s (track 13) * Travis House – producer (tracks 6, 7), engineer and mixing (track 7) * Jim Hynes –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(track 10) * Gwen Jackson – backing vocals (track 2) * Jeeve – producer (tracks 6, 7), engineer and mixing (track 7) * Daniel Johnson – backing vocals (tracks 10, 12) * Kipper Jones – backing vocals (track 4) * Jeff Kievit – trumpet (track 10) * Olga Konopelsky –

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

(track 5) * Emma Kummrow – violin (track 5) *

– producer, arrangements, drum programming, and instrumentation (track 9) * David Lopez – engineer (tracks 10, 12) *

Lil' Mo Cynthia Karen Loving (born November 19, 1978), known professionally as Lil' Mo, is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, television and radio personality. She is best known for her 2001 single " Superwoman Pt. II", featuring then-unknown rapper ...

– backing vocals (track 9) *

Joe Mardin Joe Mardin (born Yusuf Mardin) is a Turkish-American music producer, arranger and engineer from New York City. He is a Berklee College of Music graduate and is the son of the Turkish American producer Arif Mardin. Joe Mardin is also a conductor, s ...

–

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

arrangements (track 10) * Darius “D-Rain" McGuire – backing vocals (track 8) *

Musiq Taalib Hassan Johnson (born September 16, 1977), better known by the stage name Musiq Soulchild or simply Musiq (pronounced "music") is an American singer and songwriter whose style blends R&B, funk, blues, jazz, and Gospel music, gospel influ ...

– backing vocals (track 2) * Jazz Nixon – producer (tracks 10, 12) * Richard Patterson – bass fills (track 13) * Keith Pelzer – producer (tracks 2, 5), engineer and Fender Rhodes (track 5) * Kevin Perry – assistant engineer (track 9) * Gus Rickette – drum programming (track 13) * Paul Riezer – violin (track 5) * Antoinette Roberson – backing vocals (track 13) *

Eric Roberson Eric Roberson (born September 27, 1976) is an American singer, songwriter, former rapper and music producer. He is sometimes referred to simply as Erro, the name which he later used as part of his label Blue Erro Soul. His first single, "Represen ...

– backing vocals (tracks 1, 4, 13) * Jacob Robinson – engineer and mixing (track 13) *

–

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...

(all tracks), vocal arrangements and backing vocals (tracks 8, 13) * Erik Sayles –

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

(tracks 2, 4) * Jill Scott – lead vocals and vocal arrangements (track 3) * Andy Snitzer –

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

(track 10) *

– additional vocals (track 13) * Greg Tepperman – violin (track 5) *

– vocal arrangements and backing vocals (track 1) * Terry Tribbett – bass guitar (tracks 3, 5) * Sid Vee – co-producer (track 8) *

Dave Way Dave Way is an American producer, mixer and audio engineer based in Los Angeles, California, United States. He has worked with Fiona Apple, Sheryl Crow, Kesha, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Macy Gray, Ringo Starr, Shakira, Phoebe Bridgers, John Doe, Sa ...

– mixing (tracks 6, 8-10, 12) * Jimmy "June Bug" White – engineer (track 3) * Josh Wilbur – engineer (track 10) * Byron Williams – organ (tracks 10, 12) * Jay Williams – guitar (track 12) * Rick Williams – guitar and bass guitar (track 10) * Kenna Zemedkun – backing vocals (track 2)

Chart performance

References

{{Authority control 2002 debut albums Darius Rucker albums Hidden Beach Recordings albums Contemporary R&B albums by American artists Neo soul albums Soul albums by American artists