If there are four better friends in the music business than the four members of Hootie and the Blowfish, we don’t know about them. The four members, Darius Rucker, Dean Felber, Jim Sonefeld, and Mark Bryan, are one of the most impressive and long-lasting groups of musical friends there is today.

Not only are they great friends, but they’re great at making music, and always have been. They have an ear for talent and a knack for knowing exactly what kind of songs their audience wants to hear. That’s not an unfounded claim – the group has sold over 25 million records worldwide, something not very many people can claim.

The University of South Carolina: Hootie’s Birthplace

When we said they have an ear for talent we were explicitly talking about guitarist Mark Bryan. He’s the one that heard Darius Rucker (who also has a successful individual career) singing in the shower and invited him to sing with him, once he was clothed, of course.

The duo initially called themselves “The Wolf” but changed to Hootie and the Blowfish once they added Dean and Jim to the band. That was 1989 – years before they would get their big break and wrongly be deemed an “overnight” success.

From Frat Parties to Sold Out Stages

Once the band consisted of all four men and they had some original songs down, they started performing at local events. Frat parties, open mics, birthday parties, if there was a microphone, they’d be there. It was that dedication and practice that allowed them to put out their debut album “Cracked Rear View” in 1994.

That album, alone, made up 16 million of their 25 million album sales. It is their most successful singular album to date. That’s not to say that it’s their own album or their only good one! You can hear selections from their whole discography by seeing them in person.