The Bridge: Losing Hootie’s Religion
The man who signed Hootie & the Blowfish to the majors says they mainstreamed the formerly indie jangle of R.E.M.
[This edition of my Hit Parade—“The Bridge” bonus series is available to Slate Plus subscribers only. A link to the episode show page is below. To sign up for Plus—and tell Slate that Hit Parade sent you!—visit slate.com/hitparadeplus.]
In this mini-episode of Hit Parade, host Chris Molanphy is joined by Tim Sommer, former bassist, music journalist, MTV/VH1 veejay and Atlantic Records A&R representative. While at Atlantic, Tim signed Hootie & the Blowfish, and in his 2022 book Only Wanna Be with You: The Inside Story of Hootie & the Blowfish, he tells the story of how he saw the band as cultural descendants of R.E.M., how they became one of the top-selling acts of the ’90s, and why they fell off the charts so quickly.
Next, Chris quizzes a Slate Plus listener with some music trivia, gives him a chance to turn the tables with a question of his own, and previews next month’s full-length episode. Slate Plus members can sign up for a chance to be our trivia contestant on a future episode here.
Podcast production by Kevin Bendis.
Content retrieved from: https://slate.com/podcasts/hit-parade/2023/02/hootie-and-the-blowfish-mainstreamed-r-e-m-s-jangle.