Hootie & the Blowfish: Instant Success
What luck. The group’s first album, Cracked Rear View, which was released in 1994 became an instant hit, selling more than 16 million copies in the US. It was also chosen the best-selling album for 1994. The boys from the University of South Carolina must have been beaming with pride, considering this was their very first attempt.
When we say the “boys”, we’re referring to the members of the group: Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim “Soni” Sonefeld and Mark Bryan. The album’s success can probably be attributed to four good songs included in the album: “Hold My Hand”, “Let Her Cry”, “Only Wanna Be With You”, and “Time”.
When their second album came out in 1996, Hootie and the Blowfish appeared on MTV Unplugged to promote it, but it did not have the oomph of the first album. Still, it managed to sell 4 million copies in the US. Following that, the group also released four additional studio albums. The name Hootie comes from the round face, bespectacled Darius who fans thought had an owl-like look, while the name Blowfish came from the chubby cheeks. Darius Rucker plays the guitar, mandolin, does the vocals for the group and also dabbles on the harmonica. Dean Felber plays the bass, does the vocals, and also is good with the guitar and piano. The drums, percussions, bass, guitar and vocals are handled by Jim Sonefield. The other two members who are called the touring members, are Peter Holsapple (keyboards, guitar and vocals) and Gary Greene (percussion, drums and vocals).
Dan Marino, the great quarterback and Hall of Famer for the Miami Dolphins appeared in the video of Hootie and the Blowfish to promote the song “Only Wanna Be With You”. Other athletes were also on hand, joining Marino.
In Columbia, South Carolina, the minor league baseball team was baptized with the name of Blowfish to highlight the fact that the group was born in this state.
We’ll name some of the songs that Hootie and the Blowfish recorded from 1991 onwards: Time (1992), Kootchypop (1993), Musical Chairs (1998), Hootie & the Blowfish (2003), Looking for Lucky (2005), and Live in Charleston (2006).