For me, it’s “Old Man and Me (When I Get to Heaven).” Everything else seems kind treacly. And where have these guys been for, oh, the eight years?! They came out with Cracked Rear View and Fairweather Johnson, which combined sold something like 20 million copies, then just disappeared off the face of the earth. At least, it seems that way.
Let Her Cry. Frankly, it’s the only H&tB song I can listen to without going, “turn that crap off!” halfway through it.
I hate all of their songs. Except for one. " Be The One" is obviously their best song, then.
I don’t know a lot of Hootie songs, so I’m going to have to vote for “Let Her Cry” as the best one out of the ones that I know.
They have another one that I like, but a glance through their song titles doesn’t ring a bell, so I don’t know what it’s called.
“Only Lonely” from Musical Chairs.
I remember liking them fine, when they first became popular. Never was sure what happened, though I do remember them being the butt of jokes by comedians for a time. It still hasn’t been long enough for me to listen to them, since I played them to death, but for a favorite song, I’d go with Time.
It didn’t hurt their career that VH1 played “Hold My Hand” about 100 million times, either.
Funny, I just saw a TV ad promoting their greatest hits. I believe trying to sell greatest hits albums (call now! 1-800-DESPERATE) is a sure-fire sign that your career has hit bottom.
First thing that crossed my mind as I watched this was “gee, all these songs sound identical”.
That’s exactly my problem with H&B. When I first read the question in the OP (the one about what Hootie song is the best), I thought, who can tell? Pick one, any one, and it sounds just like any other one. I always though it’s probably pointless to buy an album by these guys. Buy a single, listen to it 8 times, and save some bucks. As to the OP’s second question, my thought was “they disappeared; but not as quickly as they should have”. No offense to any Hootie fans out there, just MHO.
H&B is not a great band, but neither are they as horrible as some claim; their main problem is that most of their work is not very memorable. Their best song is problably Honeyscrew from “Fairweather Johnson”.
I liked Hootie and the Blowfish, but I do agree most of their songs sounded the same (not unlike some other bands coughDaveMatthewscough).
I don’t know if it’s an indication of how far they’ve fallen but I do know that Hootie recently played at a large Veterinary conference, unfortunately I was unable to attend and missed their performance.
H&tB really aren’t my kind of music, but I did like the cover of Led Zepplin’s “Hey Hey What Can I Say” from a tribute recording called Encomium. I’m sure Zepplin fans would call that blasphemy though.
They had a best song? 
I’m going to have to say “Let Her Cry,” although I’m partial to “Not Even the Trees.” I don’t know that they’ll ever have a success like Cracked Rear View again, but that was about as pure as pop music gets. I still listen to it.
Plus, I gotta love a band that releases a CD called Scattered, Smothered, and Covered.
I think overexposure killed them off, though I can’t say why they’re getting airtime again all of a sudden. All I know is that I picked up Musical Chairs in a bargain bin at a CD store and I liked it. Then I started hearing the jokes, and in what was not my finest moment, I tossed the CD after about a year in an attempt to seem cool. And now they’re back.
It seems I’m always a few years behind the latest trends in pop music. By the way, have you guys heard this CD from this band called Cake? It’s got this great song called “The Distance…” It’s the bomb diggity!
(I am trying to catch up. I was only six months behind in buying Welcome Interstate Managers. This summer, God willing, I might actually buy pop music at the time it comes out. But I’ll probably have to listen to something other than NPR in the car.)
Never a big fan, but liked some of their songs.
However, as to what happened to them…I saw the writing on the wall when they played prominently in an espisode of Friends and the characters whet to see a H&B concerts. Not that appearing in a sitcom is instant death, but it sometimes indicates a group/performer has hit their peak and the long slide down begins.
A prediction: if they stay out of the limelight a few more years, then come out with a hit song and go on tour, everyone will love them again and claim they always did. (Cher who?)
I can’t say as if I have a favorite H&B song…
But I do remember hearing about why they kind of faded away from the music scene. If I recall the interview correctly is that they never necessarily wanted to be rock stars, and they don’t really fit that stereotypical mold either if you look at them. They just wanted to make enough money so they could not work, golf all the time, and buy Miami Dolphins tickets. So, if you believe that, I guess rock star was a means to an end, as opposed to the end itself.
I guess the new album means the money ran out…
I was never a fan, especially during their heyday. Mostly bland songs combined with the overkill factor. But I did like “Old Man And Me” a lot.
Most of the members, except for the lead singer, sat in with the Saw Doctors (for the closing song) during their appearance on ESPN2’s Cold Pizza on St. Patrick’s Day.
I’m proud to say that when H&tB were a big hit, I said, “I have two words for this band: Huey Lewis.”
I was right. Ten years from now Hootie will be playing the 500 seat restaurant clubs for people who want to hear the hits from their youth.