Although formed in 1985, Buffalo rock band the Goo Goo Dolls only emerged into the music scene ten years later with the acoustic love ballad “Name”. Shedding their heavier alternative rock roots, they altered their sound becoming more refined and commercial. A major breakthrough in 1998 with the hit single “
Iris” launched the band into further eminence as the song occupied the number one spot on the Billboard charts for 18 weeks.
Originally established as the Sex Maggots, founding members Johnny Rzeznik (lead vocals, guitar), Robby Takac (bass, vocals), and Georg
Continued...
e Tutuska (drums) were asked to change their name by a local club owner who would refuse to let them perform otherwise. Picking their name from an ad in a True Detective magazine, the Goo Goo Dolls, had a sound similar to punk rock band the Replacements. Releasing their self-titled debut in 1986 under the indie label Mercenary Records, the band was later signed to Metal Blade Records following a performance in Los Angeles. Receiving avid airplay on college radio stations, Goo Goo Dolls were appreciated for their vast musical assortment of metal, punk, and pop rock. In 1991, their track “I Awake Now” was featured in the film Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, and in 1993 “Fallin Down” off of Superstar Car Wash appeared in the film Son In Law starring Pauly Shore. Although Superstar Car Wash did not gain commercial success, the album is considered amongst their best work.
The 1995 album, A Boy Named Goo, proved to be drummer Tutuska’s final with the Goo Goo Dolls as his personal grudges with Rzeznik began to threaten the future of the band. He was replaced by Mike Malinin who would enjoy the group’s newfound success with their first hit single “Name”. The song became number one and the album was eventually certified double platinum marking the beginning of the Goo Goo Dolls’ journey to mainstream success. Switching to Metal Blade’s parent company Warner
Brothers, they released the single “Iris” for the soundtrack to the film City Of Angeles in 1998 starring Meg Ryan and Nicolas Cage. Although Rzeznik specifically wrote the song for the soundtrack, it was included on their sixth album Dizzy Up the Girl. The album also proved to be a major hit and their most successful to date featuring the popular singles “
Slide”, “
Black Balloon”, “
Broadway”, and “
Dizzy”. Their first compilation CD, What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce, followed in 2001. Gutterflower which includes singles “
Here is Gone”, “
Sympathy”, and “Big Machine” appeared a year later placing in the Billboard 200 at number four. The Goo Goo Dolls’ live album saw release in 2004 spawning the number one hit “
Give a Little Bit”, a cover of Supertramp’s original. Their most recent effort, Let Love In was released in April 2006 and includes the hit singles “Better Days”, “Stay With You”, and the studio version of “Give a Little Bit”.
