RHINO & ATLANTIC RECORDS OFFER HOOTIE "REAR VIEW"

Rhino/Atlantic Team to Release First-Ever Hootie & The Blowfish Retrospective THE BEST OF HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH (1993 THRU 2003)

Career-Spanning 17-Song Disc Includes the Band's Recently Recorded Rendition of the "Goodbye Girl" Movie Theme and "Not Even The Trees," a Fan-Chosen 17th Track

Album in Stores March 2

February 18 2004
LOS ANGELES --

Hootie & The Blowfish's first major-label release, 1994's Cracked Rear View, remains one of the greatest debuts in pop history. To date, the album has sold over 16 million copies in the U.S. alone, and is currently tied with The Beatles' 1967-1970, Elton John's Greatest Hits, The Eagles' Hotel California, Garth Brooks' No Fences and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill for 12th place on the RIAA's list of the "100 Best-Selling Albums of All Time." The chart-topping disc earned the group two Grammy Awards (Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance By A Group), a gaggle of critical acclaim and a ringing endorsement from David Letterman. (In February of '95, the famed late-night talk show host waved a copy of the album at the camera and said, "If you don't have this record, there must be something wrong with you.")

Ten years later, the album is still selling, the Hooties (frontman Darius Rucker, guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim "Soni" Sonefeld) are still rockin' and Rhino and Atlantic Records are celebrating the band's remarkable career with THE BEST OF HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH (1993 THRU 2003). The group's first-ever career retrospective includes favorites from their entire Atlantic catalog, as well as their stunning rendition of "Goodbye Girl" (recently recorded for TNT's television remake of the award-winning Neil Simon play and now available for the first time here), "Not Even The Trees" (a 17th track chosen by fans who voted on the band's official web site) and liner notes by Rolling Stone editor David Wild.


The album highlights Hootie's most popular cuts and smash hits culled from Cracked Rear View, its triple-platinum-selling, #1 1996 follow-up Fairweather Johnson, 1998's Musical Chairs and last year's self-titled Hootie & The Blowfish. Along with #1 singles "Time," "Only Wanna Be With You," and "I Go Blind," the album includes Top 10 hits such as "Hold My Hand," "Let Her Cry," "Old Man & Me (When I Get To Heaven)" and "I Will Wait," along with the band's covers of "Hey Hey What Can I Do?" (from Encomium: A Tribute To Led Zeppelin) and "Use Me" (from Scattered, Smothered & Covered). 

As noted in Wild's notes, Hootie & The Blowfish (the name refers to two friends of the band) made a huge impact because their direct and heartfelt sound came across like a breath of fresh air amid the heavy post-grunge atmosphere of the mid-1990s. They came together at the University of South Carolina in the late '80s, where they descended on the local frat party/bar circuit. Word of their electrifying live show began to spread, attracting large regional crowds and Atlantic Records, who signed them to a deal. Cracked Rear View was released in '94 yielding their first big hit, "Hold My Hand." Suddenly Hootie was everywhere: the radio, MTV, VH1 and Entertainment Weekly, who named them one of the biggest entertainers of 1995. They seemed to grow more popular with each subsequent single ("Let Her Cry," "Only Wanna Be With You" and "Time") and in one year went from playing keggers to being satirized on Saturday Night Live. How big did they get? Let's put it this way: An episode of Friends revolved around a Hootie show in which Monica got a hickey from an unnamed Blowfish. Though they couldn't match the astronomical sales figures of their debut, the band maintained top pop status with sophomore release Fairweather Johnson and continued to deliver powerful, rootsy, blues-flavored rock with subsequent releases Musical Chairs and last year's self-titled album. A decade after their arrival, the Hooties' timeless songs continue to resonate with fans of all ages. 

The full track listing for THE BEST OF HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH (1993 THRU 2003) is as follows:
"Hold My Hand"
"Only Wanna Be With You" "Let Her Cry"
"Time"
"Let Her Cry"
"Not Even The Trees"
"Old Man & Me (When I Get To Heaven)"
"Hey Hey What Can I Do?"
"Tucker's Town"
"I Go Blind"
"Sad Caper"
"Be The One"
"Use Me"
"I Will Wait"
"Innocence"
"Space"
"Only Lonely"
"Goodbye Girl"