Hootie and the Blowfish
Hootie and the Blowfish
#0Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:00pm
I love love love the song 'Only Wanna Be With You'
I know that 1994 was their biggest year (and according to 'I Love the 90's,' their only year), but seeing as I was 6 at the time, I have no idea how big they actually were, so were they really THAT popular because its kinda odd that they would be SOOOO huge and then pretty much fall off the map...
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#1re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:00pmYeah. Happens all the time.
#2re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:03pm
Yes, I know. But bands usually are still on the radar at least a little.
And didn't they have the best-selling album of '94?
But I mean, they pretty much disappeared.
And, random, but it pretty much blew my mind when I learned the lead singer wasn't really named Hootie, his name is like Darius or something.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#3re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:06pm
Darius Rucker.
Surprised he hasn't been in CHICAGO yet.
#4re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:11pmYes, they were HUGE. But one-album wonders happen all the time. Remember ACE OF BASE?
#5re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:12pmYeah. It was a stupid question. I guess I was asking more WHY it happened. I mean, they were good.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#6re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:25pm
Count me among those who never got the appeal of them and their bland frat boy middle of the road pseudo-rock thing. Maybe they disappeared because their core audience stopped going to keg parties and graduated. Or maybe the even blander Dave Matthews knocked them out of their niche and took their audience. I don't know. There always seems to be one or two bands out there at any given time carrying the banner for soulless and empty party music and they never last at the top very long because I think after repeated listens, their fans eventually realize that there's nothing to the music and move on.
But during Darius and company's brief moment at the the top, they made many many millions -- enough to never have to work again (Rucker is likely somewhere on a golf course at the very minute). These weren't gifted, passionate, dedicated musicians -- these were spoiled frat boys who could barely play their instruments and got lucky. REALLY LUCKY. Once they hit the jackpot, there was no longer a reason to continue, because they never really cared about making great music and using it to inspire people. They only cared about having fun and the music itself was a side issue. I think the road ended up being too much hard work for them (they used to whine about it in interviews), so they decided to cash out and start their lives of luxury while they were still in their 20s.
#7re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:25pm
Usually it's because the lead single off the second album is lacklustre, which destroys the entire enterprise.
Remember Boyz II Men? Their first album was big, and their sophomore album was a real cultural phenomenon. But they waited too long to put out their third LP, and people just couldn't get into the lead single. Where are they now?
#8re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:30pmSomewhere far, far away where we don't have to listen to their off-key a cappella wailing, I hope.
#9re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 6:30pm
Oh come on, Margo.
Yeah, their music isn't exactly ground-breaking, but it's catchy and fun and really good to blast when you just need to drive around in your car and think about things, which is what I did for about an hour today.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
#10re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 8:53pm
Did a bit of Googling. Apparently the lead singer was recently in a Burger King commercial:
http://journals.aol.com/fkaren1964/ScatteredThoughts/entries/613
#11re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 8:54pm
Here's an article from CBS from 2003, with a bit more on what they had been up to.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/07/29/earlyshow/leisure/music/main565689.shtml
Parks
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/04
#12re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 8:55pm
Did somebody say Ace of Base?
Now I know you aren't suggesting they're over.
They are the band responsible for creating that masterpiece, Cruel Summer, that everyone knows and loves. That was only a few years ago--so they're not COMPLETELY gone.
...I still love Ace of Base 
.
#13re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 8:57pmParks, "Cruel Summer" came out in 1998. Eight years ago. It was their comeback hit; only, they never really came back.
Type_A_Tiff
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/25/04
#14re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 9:12pm
To be fair, they had TWO hits: "I Saw The Sign" and "Don't Turn Around". And then they died.
Now, anyone remember "Are You Jimmy Ray?" - THAT'S a one hit wonder.
"Good luck returning my ass!" - Wilhemina Slater
"This is my breakfast, lunch and f***ing dinner right here. I'm not even f***in' joking." - Colin Farrell
#15re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 9:24pm
Or that "Mambo #5" song.
At a recent party I went to, the Ace of Base album (THE SIGN ?) was played for kicks. Oddly, after all these years we still knew all the lyrics.
#16re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 9:57pm
Woh, people. Woh.
You KNOW you're in trouble when people are claiming Ace of Base created that hit, "Cruel Summer." I'll bet not a one of you has ever heard of Bananarama, have you?
No. Here's some crayons.
#17re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 10:00pm
"Maybe they disappeared because their core audience stopped going to keg parties and graduated."
If only Jimmy Buffet's fans would get similarly inspired.
#18re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 10:04pmSing, thank you - I thought I was in some sort of parallel universe...
#19re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 10:05pm
Rathnait62, clearly I am the younger poster, but even I realize that Broadwayworld is indeed a parallel universe.
JohnPopa, jimmy Buffet's core audience DID grow up and graduate. They just still throw keg parties. My hometown is full of them.
wexy
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/19/05
#20re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 10:14pm
If you go to itunes, they have albums of one hit wonders from the 80s', 90's and 00's that being said I was never a Hootie fan
but if you love that song, I'm cool with that.
#21re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/29/06 at 11:59pm
You KNOW you're in trouble when people are claiming Ace of Base created that hit, "Cruel Summer." I'll bet not a one of you has ever heard of Bananarama, have you?
I thought so, too. Glad to know I was imagining things.
There are people out there who don't know that Mariah Carey's "Fantasy" samples heavily from the Tom Tom Club's "Genius of Love."
Parks
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/5/04
#22re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/30/06 at 12:27am*takes crayons and eats them*
BSoBW3
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/21/06
#23re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/30/06 at 12:29am
Hootie and his Blowfish have a song on the CIVIL WAR CR.
It's an OK song, but they make it too pop/rock.
peach
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/29/05
#25re: Hootie and the Blowfish
Posted: 1/30/06 at 12:39pm
Yes - Hootie was pretty darn big in the mid-90s. I remember seeing them play at a bar, actually, before they became extremely popular (aging myself!). But then the Top 40 stations played Only Wanna Be With You...non-stop (like, every hour) for a while and it became annoying.
They had that catchy, acoustic summer music thing going on which in the mid-90s , was popular. If I recall correctly, Dave Matthews Band was entering its heyday in the mid-90s as well...
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