Hootie & the Blowfish is an American rock band 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 went on hiatus in 2008 until they announced plans for a full reunion tour in 2019 and released their first new studio album in fourteen years, Imperfect Circle.
Cracked Rear View is the debut studio album by Hootie & the Blowfish, released on July 5, 1994, by Atlantic Records. Released to positive critical reviews, it eventually became one of the highest-selling albums in the United States, and also one of the best-selling albums worldwide, with over 20 million units.
Darius Rucker is an American singer, musician, 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 Carolina along with Mark Bryan, Jim "Soni" Sonefeld, and Dean Felber. The band released five studio albums with Rucker as a member and charted six top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. Rucker co-wrote most of the songs with the other members of the band.
Fables of the Reconstruction is the third studio album by American alternative rock band R.E.M. It was released on June 10, 1985, through I.R.S. Records. It was the band's first album recorded outside of the U.S., with sessions taking place at Livingston Studios in London with producer Joe Boyd. The record displays a darker, murkier sound and lyrics drawing from Southern Gothic themes and characters. Additionally, more varied instrumentation is utilized, including string and brass arrangements and banjo.
South Carolina is one of the Southern United States and has produced a number of renowned performers of jazz, rock, blues, R&B, country, bluegrass and other popular styles.
Don Gehman is an American record producer, engineer, and executive, best known for his work with John Mellencamp and Hootie & the Blowfish. He was one of "the most successful producers of the 1980s and 1990s." As a sound engineer, he also helped invent the modern rock P.A. and monitor systems.
Mark William Bryan is an American musician. He is a founding member, songwriter, and lead guitarist for the band Hootie & the Blowfish. In 1986, Bryan and his friend Darius Rucker formed a duo called the Wolf Brothers while attending the University of South Carolina. Eventually, friends Dean Felber and Jim Sonefeld joined the band, which led to the founding of Hootie & the Blowfish in 1989. Bryan has also released three solo albums: 30 on the Rail, End of the Front, and Songs of the Fortnight.
"Only Wanna Be with You" is a song by American alternative rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. After being included on the group's EP Kootchypop (1993), it was released in July 1995 as the third single from their breakthrough album, Cracked Rear View (1994). It peaked at number six on the US Billboard Hot 100, number one on the Billboard Top 40/Mainstream chart, number three on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number two on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.
"Let Her Cry" is a song by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released in December 1994 as the second single from their debut album, Cracked Rear View (1994), and became a top-10 hit in Australia, Canada, Iceland, and the United States. The song received the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1996.
Fairweather Johnson is the second studio album by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, released on April 23, 1996, through Atlantic Records. Three songs from the album were released as singles: "Old Man & Me", "Tucker's Town", and "Sad Caper". The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 in May 1996, while their debut, Cracked Rear View, was still in the charts. It has sold 2,361,000 copies in the US as of May 2012. Despite its initial success, sales tapered off quickly, and the album earned mixed reviews. It was included in Pitchfork Media's 2010 list of "ten career-killing albums" of the 1990s. Stylus Magazine shared sentiments, including it in their "Non-Definitive Guide to the Follow-Up", saying "really, everyone saw this one coming a mile off. Who was really gonna care about another Hootie album?"
NRG Recording Studios is a recording facility located in North Hollywood, California, that was created by producer and mixer Jay Baumgardner in 1992.
"Time" is a song by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released on October 24, 1995, as the fourth single from their 1994 debut album, Cracked Rear View. "Time" peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and reached number one in Canada for a week in February 1996. The song also peaked at number one on the Billboard Adult Top 40, number nine in Iceland, and number 35 in New Zealand.
"I Go Blind" is a song by Canadian alternative rock group 54-40. The song was released in Canada as the second single from the band's 1986 self-titled album, 54-40. It has since become one of the band's most popular songs.
"Hold My Hand" is the debut single of the American alternative rock band Hootie & the Blowfish from their album Cracked Rear View. All four of the band members wrote the song sometime in 1989, and it was released on a self-titled cassette EP the year after. Released in July 1994, "Hold My Hand" charted at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song includes a backing vocal from David Crosby.
"Tucker's Town" is a song by American rock group Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released on June 25, 1996, as the second single from their second album, Fairweather Johnson (1996). In the United States, it peaked at number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 24 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number 29 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Outside the US, "Tucker's Town" reached number two in Canada—ending 1996 as the country's 25th-most-successful single—and number 20 in Iceland.
"Old Man & Me " is a song by American rock group Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released in April 1996 as the lead single from their second album, Fairweather Johnson. In the United States, it peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 18 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, and number six on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The song also reached number one in Canada, becoming the band's third and final single to do so.
"I Will Wait" is a song by American rock group Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from their third studio album, Musical Chairs. In the United States, it peaked at number 28 on the Adult Contemporary music chart, and number three on the Adult Top 40 music chart. The song reached number seven in Canada.
Kootchypop is a 1993 EP by Hootie & the Blowfish released independently. Several of the EP's songs became hits when they were re-recorded for their later major-label albums. In addition, the tracks were eventually remastered and included as a bonus on the deluxe 25th anniversary edition of Cracked Rear View.
The Group Therapy Tour was concert tour from American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish. It began on May 30, 2019, in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and ended on October 16, 2019, in Birmingham, England. This was their first full tour in over a decade, and was in support of their sixth studio album Imperfect Circle (2019).
Imperfect Circle is the sixth studio album by American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish, released on Capitol Records Nashville on November 1, 2019. It is their first new studio album in fourteen years; it has received mixed reviews and modest commercial success.
