“If you have the songs people want to hear, it doesn’t matter what color you are.”

That’s what Darius Rucker told AJC freelance writer James Kelly for a story that runs in Go Guide Friday.

When asked about comparisons to African-American country singer Charley Pride, the former lead singer of  Hootie and the Blowfish who is now pursuing a solo career in country music, said: “There is a world of difference between what was happening when Charley Pride was coming up and now.”

Kelly notes that Rucker’s 2008 single “Don’t Think I Don’t Think About It” was the first No. 1 country song for an African-American artist since Pride’s 1983 hit “Night Games.”

Rucker performs Friday at Lakewood Amphitheatre. Rascal Flatts is also on the bill.