In 1985, Mark Bryan heard Darius Rucker singing in a dorm shower at the University of South Carolina and asked him to form a band. For the next eight years, Hootie & the Blowfish—completed by bassist Dean Feldman and drummer Soni Sonefeld—played every frat house, roadhouse, and rock club in the mid-Atlantic and Southeast, becoming one of the biggest independent acts in the region.

In Only Wanna Be with You, Tim Sommer, the ultimate insider who signed the band to Atlantic Records in 1993, pulls back the curtain on the band's indie days; the chart-topping success of their major-label debut, cracked rear view; the year of Hootie (1995); the lean years; Darius Rucker's history-making rise in country music; and one of the most remarkable comeback stories of the century. Featuring new and extensive interviews with the band members, some of the band's most famous fans, and stories from the recording studio, tour bus, and golf course, this book is essential reading for Hootie lovers and music buffs.