Don't Think I Don't Think About It

"Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
Single by Darius Rucker
from the album Learn to Live
ReleasedMay 27, 2008 (2008-05-27)
GenreCountry
Length3:03
LabelCapitol Nashville
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Frank Rogers[1]
Darius Rucker singles chronology
"Wild One"
(2003)
"Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
(2008)
"It Won't Be Like This for Long"
(2008)

"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" is a song recorded by American country music artist Darius Rucker, lead singer of the band Hootie & the Blowfish. The song, co-written by Rucker and Clay Mills, was released in May 2008 as Rucker's first single from his album Learn to Live. The song made Rucker the first new individual black artist to chart a number one country hit since Charley Pride's "Night Games" reached the top of the charts in September 1983.

Content

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"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" is a mid-tempo, backed mainly by guitars. Its narrator describes a man who has left his former lover. He tells her that he thinks about what they could have been.

Critical reception

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The song received a positive review from Billboard reviewer Deborah Evans Price, who said that the single "is that perfect combination of solid production, a great vocal and finely crafted song that adds up to a hit."[1] Entertainment Weekly simple called the song "pretty great,"[2] and People called it a "bittersweet ballad".[3] In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at #174 on its 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time ranking.[4]

Music video

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The music video was directed by Wayne Isham.[5]

Chart performance

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"Don't Think I Don't Think About It" debuted at number 51 on the Hot Country Songs charts dated for May 3, 2008. The song reached a peak of number one on the chart week of October 4, making Rucker the first solo African-American artist to reach the top of the country charts since Charley Pride's "Night Games" in 1983.[6] The song remained on top of the chart for a second consecutive week.[7] It is also his first solo Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100, at number 35. The song reached over a million copies in sales in May 2014.[8]

Chart (2008) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 35
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 1
Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[11] 47
Canada Country (Billboard)[12] 3

Year-end charts

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Chart (2008) Position
US Country Songs (Billboard)[13] 4

Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[14] Platinum 1,000,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

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  1. ^ a b Price, Deborah Evans. "Don't Think I Don't Think About It". Billboard. Retrieved 2008-06-21.
  2. ^ Pastorek, Whitney (September 19, 2008), "Learn to Live". Entertainment Weekly, (1012):
  3. ^ Arnold, Chuck (September 29, 2008), "Learn to Live". People. 70 (13):
  4. ^ "The 200 Greatest Country Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone. May 24, 2014.
  5. ^ "CMT : Music Video : Don't Think I Don't Think About It : Darius Rucker". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-07-23.
  6. ^ "Darius Rucker Takes Country Debut To Number One". Philadelphia At Home. 2008-09-23. Retrieved 2008-09-24.
  7. ^ Cohen, Jonathan. "T.I.'s 'Like' Still Cruising Atop Hot 100". Billboard. October 2, 2008.
  8. ^ Grein, Paul (14 May 2014). "Chart Watch: Iggy Azalea's Amazing Feat". Yahoo!. Retrieved 15 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Darius Rucker Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  10. ^ "Darius Rucker Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  11. ^ "Darius Rucker Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Darius Rucker Chart History (Canada Country)". Billboard.
  13. ^ "Best of 2008: Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2008. Retrieved December 13, 2008.
  14. ^ "American single certifications – Darius Rucker – Don't Think I Don't Think About It". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved July 1, 2021.
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