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Hootie and the Blowfish were all the rage in the ’90s with the release of their first studio album Cracked Rear View in 1994, which included hits like “Hold My Hand” and “I Only Want to Be With You.”

To this day, the album is still one of the top 10 best-selling albums in U.S. history, selling more than 21 million units. Hootie and the Blowfish even won the Grammy for Best New Artist in 1995, so what led to their eventual demise and subsequent resurrection?

The official story is that the band collectively decided to take a break in 2008. While many think it was so lead singer, Darius Rucker, could pursue a solo career in country music, the band admitted in a 2019 New York Times interview, it was more than one reason: multiple members were going through divorces, their success had started to dwindle, and after getting sober, drummer Jim Sonefeld told the band he needed to stop touring.

That being said, Rucker’s desire to pursue his love of country music was surely a contributing factor, and the hiatus from the band allowed him to grow as a solo act. He’s gone on to record multiple hits (“Wagon Wheel”) and win country music awards. But he was adamant, even during the mid-2000s, that the band was never really broken up. “I don’t think we’ll ever break up totally. We’re Hootie & the Blowfish…. We’ll make another record and do another tour someday. I don’t know when, but it will happen. There’s one more in us,” he told CBS in 2011.

And there certainly was. The band got back together officially in 2019 to go on tour with the Barenaked Ladies. They also release an album, Imperfect Circle.

As for what’s next for the band, we’ll have to wait and see. Rucker, however, is set to release a new album this year, Carolyn’s Boy. The first song to be released, “Fires Don’t Start Themselves,” is already a hit. Give it a listen below.

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