Hootie & the Blowfish formed in 1986. The quartet met when they were freshmen at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Bryan heard Rucker singing in the showers of the dorm they shared and was impressed by his vocal ability. They began playing cover tunes as The Wolf Brothers; eventually they collaborated with Felber, a former high school bandmate of Bryan's, and Jim "Soni" Sonefeld as Hootie & the Blowfish.
Brantley Smith was the original drummer for the band. He left the group to pursue music ministry, but he has made scattered guest appearances with the band (he played cello on their MTV Unplugged performance in 1996, and played drums at Gruene Hall in Gruene, Texas, on June 27, 2008).
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. 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). 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.
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 sold four million copies in the U.S.
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 hit at radio in 1996 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. Meat Puppets, Jump, Little Children, Treadmill Trackstar and Treehouse released one album each on Breaking Records. The label folded in 2000.
In 1998, they performed on Frank Wildhorn's concept album of the musical The Civil War.
In 200, the band released a B-sides and rarities compilation in 2000 entitled Scattered, Smothered and Covered.
The band covered the 1968 Orpheus hit "Can't Find the Time" in 2001 for the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey movie, Me, Myself and Irene. Orpheus leader Bruce Arnold performed the song with the band during several concerts on the West Coast of the United States in 2001.
In 2009, Hootie and the Blowfish performed live in a ballet which chronicled their rise and success in the 1990s.
In 2008, Rucker announced in an AOL Sessions interview that Hootie and the Blowfish would be going on hiatus so Rucker could pursue his solo career as a country music performer. Although the band will no longer be recording or touring, Rucker confirmed that 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." Rucker also said that the split will last "for five or six years, or until I record three or four country albums". He later amended his statement, saying, "To be honest with you, we're not even split up right now, and we're not really thinking about splitting up."
Fool
Hootie & The Blowfish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you were sleeping in my mind
Doubting you'll ever be free again
Then I climbed back inside
Someone open my eyes
To find me drunk again
Bonnie on the radio
And she was singing low "Give it up or let me go"
Every night there is two more
Saying I shouldn't be feeling this pain
I think I better grow up now or go insane
There's so much I feel
So much I conceal
There's just so many things I can be
Someone write the story of 5 points
No one wanted to know me
Now they all have opinions of what we do
So they go down to Bar None so we can have a drink or two
Can't write a story from the trees
I know somewhere she's watching me
Saying "Boy carry your load"
Oh I don't want to go back on the road now
There's so much I feel
So much I conceal
There's just so many places to see
And faces I can read
There's just so many things I can be
The first verse of "Fool" describes the singer's feelings after a break-up. He saw the person he used to be in a relationship with in his thoughts while he was sleeping, and he doubts that they will ever be able to be happy again. Then he goes on to sing about getting drunk and hearing a Bonnie Raitt song on the radio. He describes feeling pain and realizing that he needs to grow up and move on from the relationship.
The second verse of the song is about the singer's feelings towards the people who used to ignore him but now have opinions about his life. He mentions going to a bar called "Bar None" to have a drink or two and escape from the scrutiny of others. The singer talks about feeling like he's being watched from somewhere, and he recalls someone telling him to "carry his load." He doesn't want to go back on the road and face his problems again.
Overall, the lyrics of "Fool" are about the pain and confusion that come with a break-up. The singer is struggling to move on and grow up, and he feels like he's being judged by others. The song has a sense of longing and sadness, but it also has a touch of hopefulness. The singer is looking for a way to move forward and find a new path in life.
Line by Line Meaning
Saw you last night
I was thinking about you a lot in my mind even when I was sleeping
you were sleeping in my mind
You were always in my thoughts and my memory
Doubting you'll ever be free again
I'm not sure if you'll ever be free from the past, and the ghosts that haunt your memories
Then I climbed back inside
I went back to my own thoughts and feelings
Someone open my eyes
I need someone to help me see things clearly
To find me drunk again
I'm not facing my problems, but instead numbing myself with alcohol
Bonnie on the radio
The radio is playing Bonnie Raitt's music
And she was singing low "Give it up or let me go"
The lyrics of the song Bonnie is singing are urging someone to make a decision about whether to let go of something or keep holding on
Every night there is one more
Every night there is more pain to deal with
Every night there is two more
Things are getting harder and harder to deal with
Saying I shouldn't be feeling this pain
Other people are saying that I shouldn't be hurting as much as I am
I think I better grow up now or go insane
I need to face my problems and deal with them, or they will overwhelm me
There's so much I feel
There are a lot of emotions I am experiencing
So much I conceal
I am hiding a lot of my feelings from others, and maybe even from myself
There's just so many things I can be
I have a lot of potential, and many paths I could take in life
Someone write the story of 5 points
I wish someone could write a story about my life and my experiences
No one wanted to know me
I felt alone and isolated for a long time
Now they all have opinions of what we do
Now that I am more successful, people have more opinions about my life and choices
So they go down to Bar None so we can have a drink or two
People want to be around me now that I am more successful, and they want to drink and celebrate with me
Can't write a story from the trees
It's hard to understand my experiences and perspective without knowing the full story
I know somewhere she's watching me
I feel like there is someone important to me who is watching over me, guiding me
Saying "Boy carry your load"
This person is telling me to take responsibility for myself and my actions
Oh I don't want to go back on the road now
I don't want to go back to a time when I was struggling and alone again
There's just so many places to see
There are so many opportunities and experiences in the world
And faces I can read
There are so many people to meet and get to know, and stories to learn from them
There's just so many things I can be
I have a lot of potential and possibilities in my life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DARIUS RUCKER, DEAN FELBER, JIM SONEFELD, MARK BRYAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind