Hold My Hand (Hootie & the Blowfish song)

"Hold My Hand" is the debut single of the American alternative rock band Hootie & the Blowfish from their first album, Cracked Rear View (1994). All four of the band members (Mark Bryan, Dean Felber, Darius Rucker and Jim Sonefeld) wrote the song sometime in 1989, and it was released on a self-titled cassette EP the year after. Released in July 1994 by Atlantic Records, "Hold My Hand" charted at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100. The song includes a backing vocal from David Crosby.^[6]

"Hold My Hand"
Single by Hootie & the Blowfish
from the album Cracked Rear View
B-side	"I Go Blind"
Released	July 18, 1994
Genre	Alternative rock[1] pop rock[2][3] roots rock[4][5]
Length	4:15
Label	Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Mark Bryan Dean Felber Darius Rucker Jim Sonefeld
Producer(s)	Don Gehman
Hootie & the Blowfish singles chronology
"Hold My Hand" (1994) "Let Her Cry" (1994)
Music video
"Hold My Hand” on YouTube

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine from AllMusic said that the song "has a singalong chorus that epitomizes the band's good-times vibes."^[7] Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "Don't give up, here's new hope. Only images of Brazilian footballers holding hands can equal the optimism and camaraderie reflected by this country rock song in a gospel spirit."^[8]

Chart performance

"Hold My Hand" peaked at number 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100^[9] and number six on Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.^[10] It ended the year at number 22 on the Billboard year-end chart for 1995.^[11]

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Hold My Hand" was directed by American filmmaker and director of music videos, Adolfo Doring.^{[citation needed]}

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1994–1995) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[12] 70 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[13] 36 European Hit Radio Top 40 (Music & Media)[14] 40 France Radio (SNEP)[15] 89 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[16] 37 Scotland (OCC)[17] 27 UK Singles (OCC)[18] 50 US Billboard Hot 100[9] 10 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[10] 6 US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[19] 25 US Mainstream Rock (Billboard)[20] 4 US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[21] 2

Year-end charts Chart (1994) Position US Album Rock Tracks (Billboard)[22] 30 Chart (1995) Position Brazil (Crowley)[23] 92 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 22 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[24] 9 US Top 40/Mainstream (Billboard)[25] 9

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	July 18, 1994	Radio	Atlantic	[citation needed]
United Kingdom	February 13, 1995	CD cassette		[26]