Darius Rucker founded a band at the University of South Carolina in 1986.
Darius Carlos `` Hootie '' Rucker ( born May 13 , 1966 ) is an American singer and songwriter . He first gained fame as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Grammy Award-winning American rock band Hootie & the Blowfish , which he founded in 1986 at the University of South Carolina along with Mark Bryan , Jim `` Soni '' Sonefeld and Dean Felber .