I Will Wait (Hootie & the Blowfish song)

"I Will Wait"
Single by Hootie & the Blowfish
from the album Musical Chairs
ReleasedAugust 17, 1998 (1998-08-17)
Length4:15
LabelAtlantic
Songwriters
ProducerDon Gehman
Hootie & the Blowfish singles chronology
"Sad Caper"
(1996) 		"I Will Wait"
(1998) 		"Only Lonely"
(1999)

"I Will Wait" is a song by American rock group Hootie & the Blowfish. It was released in August 1998 as the lead single from their third studio album, Musical Chairs. In the United States, it peaked at number 18 on the BillboardHot 100 Airplay chart and number three on the Bilboard Adult Top 40. In Canada, the song reached number seven, making it the band's final top-10 hit there. The song's music video was directed by Ulf Buddensieck.[citation needed]

Background and writing

Darius Rucker stated in an interview with Billboard that he wrote the song about his best friend's parents. The father was in the military and the mother was always waiting for him to get home.[1]

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[2] 7
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[3] 12
Scotland Singles (OCC)[4] 42
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 57
US Radio Songs (Billboard)[6] 18
US Adult Alternative Airplay (Billboard)[7] 8
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[8] 28
US Adult Pop Airplay (Billboard)[9] 3
US Pop Airplay (Billboard)[10] 16

Year-end charts

Chart (1998) Position
Canada Top Singles (RPM)[11] 83
Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[12] 74
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[13] 30
US Mainstream Top 40 (Billboard)[14] 74
US Triple-A (Billboard)[15] 39
Chart (1999) Position
US Adult Top 40 (Billboard)[16] 73

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref(s).
United States August 18, 1997
Atantic [17][18]
Japan October 10, 1998 CD [19]
United Kingdom October 26, 1998
  • CD
  • cassette
 [20]

References

  1. ^ Newman, Melinda (August 15, 1998). "'Chairs' Track Listing". Billboard. Vol. 110, no. 33. p. 13.
  2. ^ "Top RPM Singles: Image 7044". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  3. ^ "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Image 7019". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  4. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart on 1/11/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  5. ^ "Official Singles Chart on 1/11/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  6. ^ "Hootie the Blowfish Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  7. ^ "Hootie the Blowfish Chart History (Adult Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  8. ^ "Hootie the Blowfish Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  9. ^ "Hootie the Blowfish Chart History (Adult Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  10. ^ "Hootie the Blowfish Chart History (Pop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved August 15, 2025.
  11. ^ "RPM's Top 100 Hit Tracks of '98" (PDF). RPM. Vol. 63, no. 12. December 14, 1998. p. 20. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 27, 2019. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  12. ^ "RPM's Adult Contemporary Tracks of '98". RPM. Retrieved February 8, 2026 – via Library and Archives Canada.
  13. ^ "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 55.
  14. ^ "Most Played Mainstream Top 40 Songs of 1998". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 45.
  15. ^ "Best of '98: Most Played Triple-A Songs". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 6, no. 52. December 25, 1998. p. 35.
  16. ^ "Most Played Adult Top 40 Songs of 1999". Airplay Monitor. Vol. 7, no. 52. December 24, 1999. p. 47.
  17. ^ "Upcoming New Releases". Hits. Vol. 12, no. 606. August 14, 1998. p. 40.
  18. ^ "New Releases". Radio & Records. No. 1261. August 14, 1998. p. 43.
  19. ^ "フーティー・アンド・ザ・ブロウフィッシュ | アイ・ウィル・ウェイト" [Hootie and the Blowfish | I Will Wait] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved February 8, 2026.
  20. ^ "New Releases: Singles". Music Week. October 24, 1998. p. 43.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Will_Wait_(Hootie_%26_the_Blowfish_song)