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The Goo Goo Dolls

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The Goo Goo Dolls is an alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York by John Rzeznik and Robby Takac.

History

Origins and early music (1986-1993)

The Goo Goo Dolls initially consisted of John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar), Robby Takac (vocals, bass guitar) and George Tutuska (drums). While Takac and Tutuska had been long-time friends in school, Rzeznik was playing in the band The Beaumonts, with Takac’s cousin. The three founded the band under the name Sex Maggots. However, when a club owner booked the band, he requested they change the name, as the local newspaper could not print their current name. The trio picked the current name out of a True Detective newspaper ad for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll. "We were young and we were a garage band, not trying to get a deal. We had a gig that night and needed a name. It's the best we came up with, and for some reason it stuck. If I had five more minutes, I definitely would have picked a better name" John stated. With Takac as their lead singer, the band released their first album, Goo Goo Dolls in 1986 on Mercenary Records, but was picked up in 1987 by Celluloid Records, a larger record company. The band released its second album, Jed, in 1989 after moving to Los Angeles.

The band's third album, Hold Me Up, was released in 1990 and featured Rzeznik as the lead vocalist on five tracks, including the single "There You Are" as well as the current concert favourite Two Days in February. Despite being earlier dismissed as having too similar a sound to The Replacements, as well as being embraced by local college radio and punk scenes, (playing such venues as CBGB) the Goo Goo Dolls' third release had incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop rock, and punk. In 1991, the song "I'm Awake Now" was recorded for the soundtrack of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, the video for which featured a cameo of Robert Englund in character as Freddy Krueger and was played on the major video channels at the time.

Superstar Car Wash was released in 1993 to significant media attention. The critical success and encouraging sales of the last album resulted in a larger budget from Metal Blade Records. The album was partially recorded in Metalworks Studio in Mississauga, Ontario, which is where Rush had produced multi-platinum albums. The single "We Are the Normal", which Rzeznik wrote with Replacements' frontman Paul Westerberg, received a major push toward college and independent radio, while its video was displayed on MTV's 120 Minutes program. "Fallin' Down" made it onto the soundtrack of Pauly Shore's hit film Son in Law.

Mainstream breakthrough and legal issues (1995-1997)

Shortly after recording the band's fifth album A Boy Named Goo, George Tutuska was asked to leave the band after Rzeznik quit because he couldn't be in the same room with Tutuska. This was due to Tutuska claiming that he deserved a share of the royalties for contributing to the songwriting in the song "Fallin' Down", which Rzeznik was receiving monthly checks for. Takac asked Tutuska to leave and Rzeznik to come back. The band moved forward from this December 31, 1994 incident. The band hired Mike Malinin and toured rigorously.

A Boy Named Goo sold modestly in this time, however it was not until the release of the single "Name" that the band experienced any commercial success. A Boy Named Goo became the first album in Metal Blade history to achieve double-platinum status. The success, however, was bittersweet, as the band found themselves in a legal battle with Metal Blade records. The band filed suit against Metal Blade, claiming they had not earned any royalties from their album’s sales, which was attributed to a "grossly unfair, one-sided and unenforceable contract" which had been signed by the band in 1987. The two sides reached a settlement which had the band signed to the company’s parent company, Warner Bros. Records, under which the band released their sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl, in 1998. The undisputed success of "Name" marked a fundamental change in the band’s sound toward a more polished, commercial direction.

"Iris" and continued success (1997-2005)

Rzeznik was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and the end product was "Iris", which propelled the band to stardom, as it stayed on top of Billboard Hot 100 Airplay charts for 18 weeks, and was nominated for three Grammys that year. According to interviews with Rzeznik, he was experiencing serious bouts of writers' block when he was approached to write a song for the City of Angels soundtrack, and, according to Rzeznik, he was on the verge of quitting the band days before he wrote the song that would launch the band to worldwide fame.

"Iris" was included on the triple platinum Dizzy Up the Girl, and was among Top-Ten hits "Slide", "Black Balloon", "Broadway", and "Dizzy" from the same album. The new, polished sound garnered legions of new fans, many of whom had not followed the band before their mainstream success. Most of the Goo Goo Dolls concerts feature few, if any, songs the band wrote before 1995, reflecting the band’s more mainstream sound. Although the lyrics to "Black Balloon" are vague and unclear, as this is an essential aspect of Rzeznik's style of writing, the song, according to the lead-singer himself, regards drug abuse and the emotional consequences of indulging in them. It is widely believed that the song was written for Robby Takac's wife who was once caught up in drug abuse but who has fully recovered today; both refuse to state who the song is written for or about. In 2001, the Goos released their first ever compilation CD, What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce. Next, Gutterflower (2002)—with dark lyrical undertones from Rzeznik's divorce—achieved gold certification, producing the hits "Here Is Gone", "Sympathy", and "Big Machine". On July 4, 2004, the band performed a free concert in their hometown of Buffalo, continuing through a deluge of rain that can be seen on the DVD released later that year. The DVD also contained a studio version of the Goo Goo Dolls' cover of "Give a Little Bit" by Supertramp. The single reached the top of the Adult Top 40 chart in 2005.

Let Love In era (2006-2007)

In 2006, The Goo Goo Dolls marked their 20th anniversary with their new album Let Love In, which included the studio recording of "Give a Little Bit" as well as other top 10 radio singles "Better Days," "Stay With You," and "Let Love In". With their third consecutive single ("Let Love In") from the album, the Goo Goo Dolls hit a record 12 Top 10 hits in Adult Top 40 history, beating Matchbox Twenty and Sheryl Crow. The Goo Goo Dolls plan to release another single from Let Love In, "Without You Here", as well as a song from the July 2007 Transformers movie called "Before It's Too Late", originally titled "Fiction". To promote the new single, the Goo Goo Dolls performed "Before It's Too Late" at both The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 8, 2007, and again at The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on June 22, 2007. In July 2007 the band discussed their career as a whole and gave a live performance on A&E's Private Sessions Rzeznik has stated that after the release of "Without You Here" and their summer tour with Lifehouse and Colbie Caillat, the band will return to the studio to begin work on their next album, their ninth overall.

April 13, 1996 and July 4, 2004 were proclaimed "Goo Goo Dolls Day" in their hometown of Buffalo, New York.

On June 27th 2007 - the GGD performed to a sold-out crowd at Red Rock Ampitheatre in Colorado. The performance premiered on HDNet in high definition (and 5.1 audio) Sunday September 30th at 9pm.

Greatest Hits CDs (2007-present)

On November 13th, 2007, the band released a greatest hits album entitled Greatest Hits Volume One: The Singles and have plans to release a "career retrospective collection" in the near future. The new greatest hits album includes a new version of "Name" and a remix of "Feel The Silence" by Michael Brauer. The band performed "Better Days" and "Stay With You," at halftime of the Detroit Lions' 2007 Thanksgiving day game at Ford Field. The halftime show focused on the United Way and NFL's commitment to youth health and fitness.

Their 2nd Greatest Hits CD filled with B-Sides, Rarities, and a live performance DVD is rumored to be released sometime in 2008. The CD currently has no release date.

Also; on their official website under the tour section, they have officially announced recording sessions for a new album unrelated to the Greatest Hits Vol. 2. It reads: "The boys are headed into the studio to record the new album - we'll keep you posted on any special appearances.

Band members

Current members

Former members

Current touring musicians

Former touring musicians

  • Nathan December - guitars (1998-2000)
  • Dave Schulz - keyboards (1998-2000)
  • Greg Suran - guitars (2002-2006)
  • Jason Freese - keyboards, saxophone (2002-2004)
  • Paul Gordon - keyboards (2004-2006)

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Compilation albums

DVDs and Videos

TV appearances

Singles

  • "There You Are" (1991)
  • "I'm Awake Now" (1992)
  • "We Are The Normal" (1993)
  • "Only One" (1995)
  • "Flat Top" (1995)
  • "Naked" (1995)
  • "Name" (1996)
  • "Long Way Down" (1996)
  • "Lazy Eye" (1997)
  • "Iris" (1997)
  • "Slide" (1998)
  • "Dizzy" (1998)
  • "Black Balloon" (1999)
  • "Broadway" (2000)
  • "Here Is Gone" (2002)
  • "Big Machine" (2002)
  • "Sympathy" (2003)
  • "Give A Little Bit" (2004)
  • "Better Days" (2005)
  • "Let Love In" (2006)
  • "Stay With You" (2006)
  • "Before It's Too Late (Sam and Mikaela's Theme)" (2007)

Concerts

Winter "Let Love In" Tour - 2006-2007

Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center - Duluth, Minnesota - February 25, 2007

Summer "Let Love In" Tour - 2007

Minnesota State Fair - August 24, 2007

References and notes

External links

Main sites

Interviews



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Last updated on Thursday March 13, 2008 at 22:33:56 PDT (GMT -0700)
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