By the time Hootie & The Blowfish released their debut album, Cracked Rear View, on July 5, 1994, the band had already been honing their craft for over eight years. Formed at the University of South Carolina, singer Darius Rucker and guitarist Mark Bryan started as a cover band called The Wolf Brothers before being joined by bassist Dean Felber and drummer Brantley Smith, who was later replaced by Jim “Soni” Sonefeld.
During the height of the grunge movement, Atlantic Records A&R executive Tim Sommer signed the band, despite low expectations from the label. “The only people [at Atlantic] championing us at the time were Tim and [Atlantic’s then-president] Danny Goldberg,” Rucker recalls. “One guy actually said that if they put Cracked Rear View out, they’d be the laughingstocks of the music business. Grunge was king, and nobody was looking for this pop/rock band out of South Carolina.”
However, Cracked Rear View defied all expectations. Propelled by the hit single “Hold My Hand,” the album soared to the top of the Billboard 200 five times and has been certified 21 times platinum by the RIAA, marking over 21 million units sold in the United States. This makes it the highest-certified debut album of all time.
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of this monumental album, Hootie & The Blowfish are hitting the road with the Summer Camp With Trucks Tour, featuring Collective Soul and Edwin McCain. This tour not only commemorates their record-breaking debut but also pays homage to the band’s enduring legacy in the music industry.
As fans gather to reminisce and sing along to timeless tracks, the tour promises to be a nostalgic journey through the music that defined an era. With their harmonious pop-rock sound and Rucker’s soulful baritone, Hootie & The Blowfish continue to prove that their music is as relevant and beloved today as it was three decades ago.
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