During a night of revelry at university in the mid-1980s, Hootie and the Blowfish settled on their band name. It has taken fans almost forty years to unravel the true meaning behind this enigmatic moniker.
Originating in South Carolina, the renowned rock band has been consistently composed of Darius Rucker, Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, and Jim Sonefeld throughout their musical journey.
Naturally, music lovers were quick to assume that the band’s name was in some way inspired by nicknames that the group had for each other.
Contrary to popular belief, the name was not a random choice but rather a nod to two of their peers – one known for sporting circular glasses resembling an owl, and the other recognized for their puffy cheeks reminiscent of a blowfish.
Reddit users have been sharing their shock at the little-known fact as one wrote: ‘The band Hootie and the Blowfish contain neither Hootie, nor the Blowfish.’
Another wrote: ‘And all this time I thought Darius was Hootie, and The Blowfish were his band.’
One fan commented: ‘I’ve always referred to him as Hootie. Guess I’ll have to stop now that I know the truth.’
‘Damn, I knew that Darius Rucker was not “Hootie” and the rest of the band were not “the blowfish,”‘ one fan noted,’ but I always assumed “the blowfish” was still meant to be plural, not singular.’
Another commented: ‘The dumb thing is how did they come up with this name and not know that everyone was going to assume the lead singer wants to be called Hootie and the band are the Blowfish.
‘He’s got no one to blame when someday, someone carves “We love you Hootie” on his tombstone.’
One fan argued: ‘Everyone basically would assume that, so he brought it on himself lol it’s pretty unusual to name a band after people who aren’t even in the band.
‘It’s kind of like how nobody in Pink Floyd is named Pink or Floyd, but rather named after a couple of blues musicians.’
‘And the sad reality is that Darius is regularly referred to as “Hootie,”‘ another noted.
Speaking to Rolling Stone about the original of the name, the band recalled getting started after Bryan heard Rucker singing Billy Joel in their bathroom dorm one morning.
They got their start as ‘Wolf Brothers’ playing in bars and frat houses which led to the drunken moment, Rucker christened them Hootie and the Blowfish, after their classmates.
Bryan noted: ‘We didn’t love the name, but we didn’t have anything better.’
‘I don’t think anybody loves the name now!’ Darius added.
By their senior year, they were so popular that it was too late to change their name.
Speaking about the confusion caused by the name, Darius admitted to E Talk Canada in 2021: ‘I’m still so mad at myself about that. How could I not think that? How could I not think that? I’m so stupid.
‘That didn’t cross my mind and I should have thought that but now we’ve been a band for 35 years so I’m glad people still know who we are.’
The band got signed by Atlantic Records for a modest $75,000 and soon dominated radio and MTV.
The group sold over 25 million records worldwide after their infectious tracks hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as Hold My Hand, Let Her Cry and Only Wanna Be With You.
They won Grammy award for Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group in 1996, while they also nabbed two American Music Awards and an MTV VMA gong during their career.
By the release of 2003’s Hootie and the Blowfish, their record sales had cratered and Atlantic dropped them before 2005’s Looking for Lucky arrived by way of their own indie label.
The band wrapped a summer of touring in 2008 after which members entered the studio to record solo albums.
Darius notable embarked on a country music career, after dropping his solo R&B album Back to Then in 2001.
In December of 2018, the band appeared on the Today Show to announce a return to full-time touring along with news of a forthcoming album.
The 2019 Group Therapy Tour saw the band play to sold-out crowds across the U.S. and Canada, as well as a run of shows throughout the U.K. and Ireland.
In 2019, they released their first new music in nearly 15 years with an album titled Imperfect Circle.
Reflecting on the name during an 2023 appearance on the Jennifer Hudson Show, Darius joked: ‘[My classmates] walked in the party and I was like ‘Hey Hootie and Blowfish.
‘I lied to myself and said “What a great name for a band.” It’s not but that’s what we named ourselves anyway.’
