Hootie and The Blowfish

From Toasted Rav

History

Hootie & the Blowfish formed in 1986. The quartet met when they were freshmen at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in the showers of the dorm they shared and was impressed by his vocal ability. Bryan and Rucker began playing cover tunes as The Wolf Brothers; eventually Bryan and Rucker hooked up with Felber, a former high school. bandmate of Bryan's, and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld as Hootie & the Blowfish.[1]

The group independently released two cassette demo EPs in 1991 and 1992. In 1993, they pressed 50,000 copies of a self-released EP, Kootchypop, which was named after a reference to female genitalia in a stand-up comedy act by What's Happening co-star Shirley Hemphill.[citation needed] Their mainstream debut album was Cracked Rear View (1994). It was an instant success, ultimately going platinum 16 times in the U.S. and becoming the best-selling album of 1995. The album was propelled by four hits, "Hold My Hand" (U.S. #10), "Let Her Cry" (U.S. #9), "Only Wanna Be With You" (U.S. #6), and "Time" (U.S. #14). In 1995, Hootie and the Blowfish and Bob Dylan reached an out-of-court settlement for the group's unauthorized use of Dylan's lyrics in their song "Only Wanna Be With You."[2] Miami Dolphins' Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino appeared in the band's video for the song "Only Wanna Be With You", along with several other athletes.[3]

The band won the "Best New Artist" award at the 1996 Grammy Awards. Hootie & the Blowfish appeared on MTV Unplugged on the eve of the release of their second album, 1996's Fairweather Johnson. Though sales began promisingly, and it contained the hit single "Old Man and Me" (U.S. #13), the album quickly ran out of steam, having sold four million copies in the U.S. Hootie & the Blowfish has since released three more studio albums: Musical Chairs, Hootie & the Blowfish, and Looking for Lucky. They also released a B-sides and rarities compilation in 2000 entitled Scattered, Smothered and Covered. This album is named in tribute of Waffle House, a popular Southern chain of all-night diners. Specifically, the title refers to an order of hash browns covered with diced onions and melted cheese.[4]

In 1995, Hootie & the Blowfish contributed the song "Hey Hey What Can I Do" to the Encomium tribute album to Led Zeppelin. Their cover of Canadian group 54-40's "I Go Blind", originally released on the soundtrack to the TV series Friends in 1995, did not appear on Cracked Rear View or Fairweather Johnson, but nevertheless became a surprise hit at radio in 1997 after three singles from Fairweather Johnson had been released. Both "Hey Hey What Can I Do" and "I Go Blind" were later released on the collection Scattered, Smothered and Covered.

Hootie and the Blowfish started their own record label, Breaking Records, in 1996 as a subsidiary of Atlantic. They had planned to focus on signing local Carolina acts. Edwin McCain and Cravin' Melon were both associated with the label at one point, but did not release any material on it. The Meat Puppets, Jump, Little Children, Treadmill Trackstar and Treehouse released one album each on Breaking Records. The label folded in 2000.

The band currently has an extensive touring schedule, including an annual New Year's Eve show at the Silverton Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2008, the band started releasing their concerts as downloads through trueAnthem.[5]

Split

On August 27, 2008, Hootie frontman Darius Rucker announced in an AOL Sessions interview that Hootie and the Blowfish would be splitting so Rucker could pursue his solo career as a country music star. Although the band will no longer be recording or touring, Rucker confirmed they will still perform their scheduled charity concerts stating, "We have four charity gigs every year and we will still do them, but we will not do a record or tour."[6] Rucker also said that the split will last "for five or six years, or until I record three or four country albums".

Hootie and the Blowfish reunited to do a special show at Incirlik Air base in Turkey on 18 October 2008 to show their support to the troops.

Name

The band's name comes from two of frontman Darius Rucker's college choir friends, neither of whom was ever a band member. One, with a round face and glasses, was nicknamed Hootie because of his perceived owl-like appearance. The Blowfish, also got his nickname from his facial appearance, in his case chubby cheeks. Rucker is often mistakenly referred to as Hootie.[7]

Charity Work

Hootie & The Blowfish have became known not only for their music, but also for their charity work. Most notably, recently, Hootie brought their entire band and crew down to New Orleans for five days of building houses in Musicians' Village, on October 16-20, 2006.[8] The band's members are avid golfers, and have sponsored the annual spring Monday After the Masters Celebrity Pro-Am Golf Tournament, benefiting charities, since 1995.[9]

Personnel

   * Darius Rucker - lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, dobro, harmonica
   * Mark Bryan - guitar, mandolin, vocals, banjo, lap steel, piano
   * Dean Felber - bass, vocals, guitar, piano
   * Jim Sonefeld - drums, percussion, bass, guitar, piano, vocals

Touring members

   * Peter Holsapple - keyboards, mandolin, guitar, vocals, lap steel
   * Gary Greene - percussion, drums, vocals, guitar, piano