The Goo Goo Dolls, John Rzeznik and Robby Takac, have spent the last 30+ years making incredible music. From punk to power pop, the Grammy-nominated band has traversed the musical landscape with a catalog of 21 studio and live albums. The Goo Goo Dolls have had 20 top ten singles on various charts, and have sold more than 15 million albums worldwide.
The Goo Goo Dolls were first formed in Buffalo, NY, in 1985 by guitarist/vocalist John Rzeznik, bassist/vocalist Robby Takac, and former drummer George Tutuska. Primarily a cover band with power pop, punk, and classic rock & roll leanings, the band quickly began writing its own songs. Their early songs were often compared to the Replacement’s, which attracted the interest of the heavy metal label Mercenary, which issued their debut album "The Goo Goo Dolls" in 1987. "Jed" was released in 1989, and "Hold Me Up" was released in 1990, hitting the airwaves of college radio.
Released in 1993, "Superstar Car Wash" was the The Goo Goo Dolls‘ artistic breakthrough. The lead single, “We Are the Normal,” was co-written by Paul Westerberg of the Replacements. Shortly before their next album was released, drummer George Tutuska was replaced by Mike Malinin.
In 1995, the band released their 5th studio Album, "A Boy Named Goo". A DJ at KROQ in Los Angeles listened to “Name” and put it into rotation – the album took off and sold over 1 million copies in the first year, earning platinum designation. Johnny Rzeznik was asked to write a song for the 1998 movie “City of Angels” soundtrack, and that song was “Iris” It spent nearly a year on the Billboard charts -18 weeks at number one – and received 3 Grammy nominations.
"Dizzy Up the Girl", was released during the middle of “Iris”’ success and ultimately sold over three million copies. Other songs released from the album included “Slide”, “Dizzy”, “Broadway”, and “Black Balloon”, which was also nominated for a Grammy. In 2001, The Goo Goo Dolls released "What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce", a compilation of songs from previous albums with remixed and extended tracks.
The band’s 2002 release, "Gutterflower", attained gold status, thanks to hit singles including “Here Is Gone”, “Sympathy”, and “Big Machine”. The Goo Goo Dolls recorded a CD/DVD combo "Live In Buffalo: July 4, 2004", playing a free show to over 60,000 fans on the steps of Buffalo City Hall during a veritable monsoon, released in Nov 2004.
The Goo Goo Dolls next studio album, "Let Love In", was released in April of 2006. The album and three of its singles went gold: “Better Days,” “Stay with You,” and a cover of Supertramp’s “Give a Little Bit” The band released a greatest hits album, "Greatest Hits, Vol 1: The Singles" in November of 2007, followed by "Greatest Hits: Vol 2" in August 2008, which included more rare songs, cover songs, B-sides, and live performances. "Something for the Rest of Us", their 9th studio album, was released in August, 2011, and The Goo Goo Dolls toured in support of the album from 2011 into 2012. Their 10th studio album, "Magnetic", dropped in June of 2013, yielding the singles “Rebel Beat” and “Come to Me.”
Johnny and Robby released their 11th studio album, "Boxes", in May of 2016. The album generated the singles “Over and Over” and “So Alive”. Their 12th release, "Miracle Pill", was released in 2019. 2020 saw The Goo Goo Dolls first ever Christmas album, "It's Christmas All Over". In 2022 they released their albums "21", "Grounded with the Goo Goo Dolls", and last but not least "Chaos in Bloom", ...phew...
Over the course of their 30+ year career, the band has toured relentlessly with countless artists, including Soul Asylum, Lifehouse, Third Eye Blind, Bon Jovi, Switchfoot, the Rolling Stones, and Matchbox Twenty to name a few. The band has been invited to play incredible events, from ringing in the year 2000 in Times Square, the October 2001 Concert for New York City, the 46664 World AIDS Day concert in South Africa in 2007, and in 2013 they were inducted into the Guitar Center RockWalk Hall of Fame. The band has toured worldwide their entire career, garnering millions of fans from every corner of the globe.
Make no mistake, The Goo Goo Dolls are “So Alive” & well.
Written by: Absolute Goo & IRIS,
the largest fan-run The Goo Goo Dolls site on the internet, has been proud to work alongside the band since 1998.
We look forward to many more years of The Goo Goo Dolls music!
Black Balloon Broadway Feel The Silence Give A Little Bit Here Is Gone |
Iris Name Over And Over Slide So Alive |
lead vocals and guitars
bass and vocals
