Hootie & the Blowfish

Band

Photo: Ken Kurson · CC BY 2.0
Active 1986-2008; 2018-present
Origin Columbia, South Carolina
Albums 6
Tracks 74
Most frequent collaborator Don Gehman · 49 tracks
Genres RockPop RockRoots Rock
Complete Artist
97%
Authorship

Holds writing credit on 72 of 74 tracks

Do Hootie & the Blowfish write their own songs?

Members are credited on 72 of the band's 74 studio tracks and 54 of those carry no writer from outside the band. All four members are on nearly everything, which is how the credits have run since the debut.

By the Numbers

6
Studio Albums
74
Tracks Credited
97%
Self-Written
40
Years Active
29
Collaborators

Authorship Breakdown 72 / 74 self-written

Who wrote the songs?

Across all 74 tracks: how many Hootie & the Blowfish wrote alone, how many they co-wrote, and how many were written by others. The bracket marks every track they hold any writing credit on.

Hootie & the Blowfish has a writing credit97%
73%
24%
3%
Sole author54tracks73%
Co-written18tracks24%
Outside writers2tracks3%

Role Fingerprint how they contribute

Lyricist Performer Composer Producer
Hootie & the Blowfish's roles across the catalogue

Share of all 74 tracks where they are personally credited, by role.

Lyricist (words)97%
Composer (music)97%
Producer0%
Performer100%

Member Credit Breakdown share of tracks each member is credited on

Percentage of all 74 tracks, across every album, where each member holds a credit - split by role.

MemberPeriodLyricsMusicProductionPerformance
Darius Rucker 1986-present
97%
97%
0%
100%
Mark Bryan 1986-present
96%
96%
0%
100%
Dean Felber 1986-present
96%
96%
0%
100%
Jim Sonefeld 1989-present
96%
96%
0%
100%
Brantley Smith 1986-1989
0%
0%
0%
0%

Authorship Over Time writing credit per album

Hootie & the Blowfish's writing credit per album, in release order. Hover any bar for the album.

avg 97%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
85%
1994Cracked Rear View
1996Fairweather Johnson
1998Musical Chairs
2003Hootie & the Blowfish
2005Looking for Lucky
2019Imperfect Circle
Early · 100% written
Mid · 100% written
Late · 92% written

Authorship by Decade track-weighted

100%
1990s
Cracked Rear View, Fairweather Johnson +1 more
100%
2000s
Hootie & the Blowfish, Looking for Lucky
85%
2010s
Imperfect Circle

Authorship Spectrum pure performer to complete author

Where Hootie & the Blowfish sits on the scale from a pure performer (0%, sings songs written by others) to a complete author (100%, writes everything). The bright marker is their catalogue authorship score, plotted against other artists on the site.

Hootie & the Blowfish
Other artists on the site

Reference artists spread across the scale, closest by genre and era.

Tina Turner0%
Cher8%
Backstreet Boys25%
Rod Stewart40%
Kelly Clarkson49%
Cyndi Lauper60%
Sting84%
97%Hootie & the Blowfish
Pure Performer0%
Songwriter~50%
Complete Author100%

Who Really Wrote the Hits signature songs

Only Wanna Be with You
Cracked Rear View
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it
Let Her Cry
Cracked Rear View
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it
Hold My Hand
Cracked Rear View
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it
Time
Cracked Rear View
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it
Old Man & Me (When I Get to Heaven)
Fairweather Johnson
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it
Tucker's Town
Fairweather Johnson
Written by Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker, Jim Sonefeld
Wrote it

Discography 6 albums

Six studio albums. The band went on hiatus in 2008 while Darius Rucker made country records under his own name, and came back in 2018.

Collaborator Network who they worked with most

Hootie & the Blowfish74 tracks
DG49Don Gehman, 49 tracks 13Jeff Trott, 13 tracks FR13Frank Rogers, 13 tracks 12Don Was, 12 tracks 2Nick Brophy, 2 tracks 2Eric Paslay, 2 tracks AD2Andrew DeRoberts, 2 tracks DR2David Ryan Harris, 2 tracks MB1Matraca Berg, 1 track RF1Radney Foster, 1 track DG1Derek George, 1 track WS1Walter Salas-Humara, 1 track PL1Phillip Lammonds, 1 track PS1Paul Sanchez, 1 track KB1Keith Burns, 1 track HF1Hank Futch, 1 track TB1Tofer Brown, 1 track JC1Joel Crouse, 1 track KR1Kyle Rife, 1 track ES1Ed Sheeran, 1 track JB1Jim Beavers, 1 track CS1Chris Stapleton, 1 track CA1Chris August, 1 track JT1James T. Slater, 1 track AD1Adam Doleac, 1 track H1Hootie, 1 track TB1the Blowfish, 1 track ZK1Zach Kale, 1 track KG1King Gizmo, 1 track

Bubble size = tracks worked on together. DG Don Gehman · FR Frank Rogers

Photo credits

Portraits in the web and the rail come from Wikimedia Commons. The artist's own photo carries its credit under the picture.

The Authorship Story

Data Insight

Members are credited on 72 of the band's 74 studio tracks and 54 of those carry nobody from outside the band. All four are on almost everything: Rucker on 72, the other three on 71 each. The credits are shared equally across the lineup, which is unusual for a band with a singer this recognisable out front.

Quick Facts

  • Self-writtenMembers are credited on 72 of the band's 74 studio tracks
  • Written in house54 tracks carry no writer from outside the band
  • Split evenlyRucker on 72 tracks, Bryan, Felber and Sonefeld on 71 each
  • Biggest albumCracked Rear View is certified 2x diamond by the RIAA
  • Biggest song"Only Wanna Be with You" reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100
  • GrammysBest New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996

Creative Fingerprint

Four names on nearly every song, split evenly, for thirty years.

The Story

Four students met at the University of South Carolina in 1986 and spent eight years playing bars before Cracked Rear View came out in 1994 and became one of the biggest selling albums ever made in the United States. Five more studio albums followed, the band went on hiatus in 2008 while Darius Rucker made country records, and they came back in 2018.

Awards & Recognition

Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards
Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, for "Let Her Cry", at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards

Frequently Asked Questions Hootie & the Blowfish

Do Hootie & the Blowfish write their own songs?
Members are credited on 72 of the band's 74 studio tracks and 54 of those carry no writer from outside the band. All four members are on nearly everything, which is how the credits have run since the debut.
Who wrote "Only Wanna Be with You"?
All four members. The debut is credited to Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim Sonefeld as a group on every track.
How many albums have they released?
Six studio albums: Cracked Rear View (1994), Fairweather Johnson (1996), Musical Chairs (1998), Hootie & the Blowfish (2003), Looking for Lucky (2005) and Imperfect Circle (2019).
How well did Cracked Rear View sell?
It is certified 2x diamond by the RIAA, which is 22 times platinum, and gold by the BPI. No sales figure is published on the cited pages.
Did they win Grammy Awards?
Two at the 38th Annual Grammy Awards in 1996: Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "Let Her Cry".
Why did they stop?
They went on hiatus in 2008 and Darius Rucker made country albums under his own name. The band came back in 2018 and released Imperfect Circle the following year.
Which album has outside writers on it?
Imperfect Circle, where ten of the 13 tracks bring in Nashville writers including Jeff Trott, Eric Paslay and Chris Stapleton. The four albums before Looking for Lucky have none at all.
Are the credits shared equally?
Almost exactly. Rucker is on 72 tracks and the other three on 71 each, so nothing is attributed to the singer alone.
Where do the credits for Looking for Lucky come from?
The album article publishes none, so the per-track writers here come from the Discogs release.
Are they still recording?
Imperfect Circle in 2019 is the most recent studio album. The band has toured since.

Sources

Wikipedia: Hootie & the Blowfish Wikipedia: Hootie & the Blowfish discography File:Darius Rucker Hootie and the Blowfish 2019 - Wikimedia Commons