GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish recognize the sacrifice of military service members and their families as the holiday season approaches, with today’s release of “Won’t Be Home For Christmas” featuring Abigail Hodges. The song written by Hootie & the Blowfish and produced by Jeff Trott is available everywhere now.
Opening with Hodges’ earnest plea – “Dear Santa Claus / I write to you because / I don’t want toys this year / I just want my daddy here” – the duet portrays the dynamic between a young daughter at home and her deployed father, brought to life by lead singer Darius Rucker’s distinct baritone vocals.
“Abigail is actually the daughter of David Hodges, who’s an awesome producer here in Nashville” notes Rucker. “She did a great job of adding that perspective to this song and really bringing the lyrics to life.”
“We feel very fortunate to have the freedom to enjoy the holidays with our families, however we know that isn’t the case for everyone,” adds guitarist Mark Bryan. “Whether they’re deployed overseas or stationed far away from their families, this can be a tough time for military members. We wanted to really pay tribute to that sacrifice and thank these men and women for everything they do to keep us safe.”
Hootie & the Blowfish also recently released “Turn It Up (Walshy Fire Of Major Lazer Remix),” a re-imagined version of the track off their November 2019 album Imperfect Circle – the first new music in nearly 15 years from the Diamond-certified hitmakers, which followed their sold-out, five-country Group Therapy Tour.
For more information, visit www.Hootie.com, and follow on Facebook @hootieandtheblowfish, Twitter @HootieTweets and Instagram @hootieofficial.
About Hootie & the Blowfish
With the rich, bluesy vocals of Darius Rucker and gleeful harmonies of guitarist Mark Bryan, bassist Dean Felber and drummer Jim “Soni” Sonefeld, Hootie & the Blowfish have sold over 25 million records worldwide to date after their infectious melodies hit the airwaves in 1994 with hits such as “Hold My Hand,” “Let Her Cry” and “Only Wanna Be With You.”
The quartet met at the University of South Carolina where endless gigs at frat houses and local bars built a major local buzz. Their blend of pop, folk, blues, soul and rock made them hard to pigeonhole, but easily accessible to anyone who loved good music.
Atlantic Records, impressed by their regional draw, signed them and released Cracked Rear View in 1994. The album had been out for six months before the band played on the Late Show with David Letterman which sent sales skyrocketing, eventually landing at No. 1 on the Billboard chart the following spring. Cracked Rear View and the band went on to win two GRAMMY Awards, an MTV Video Music Award, a Billboard Music Award, and multiple People’s Choice Awards. Cracked Rear View went on to earn the band Billboard‘s Band of the Year Award in 1996 and the RIAA’s Diamond Award for sales in excess of 10 million units. Cracked Rear View remains the 7th most certified studio album in music business history.
The band remained a top draw nationwide and released five more albums for Atlantic: Fairweather Johnson, Musical Chairs, Scattered, Smothered & Covered, Hootie & The Blowfish and The Best of Hootie & The Blowfish, as well as Looking For Lucky on their own Sneaky Long Records and LIVE in Charleston, The Homegrown Concert Event DVD and CD. The band took a break from full-time touring in 2007, reuniting annually for a variety of philanthropic events while also pursuing solo projects. 2019 marked the band’s first full-time touring year in over a decade as they embarked on the sold-out Group Therapy Tour in support of Imperfect Circle, released in November 2019 under a new record deal with Universal Music Group.
