The Goo Goo Dolls

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Biography

Formed in 1986, Goo Goo Dolls is an alternative rock group best known for their international hit “Iris” (1998). John Rzeznik (guitar and vocals), Robby Takac (bass and vocals), and original drummer George Tutuska first came together at school in Buffalo, New York, taking their curious name from a toy they saw advertised in a comic book. The trio released their self-titled debut album in 1987 with Takac handling the lead vocals. They relocated to Los Angeles, California and released their sophomore album, Jed, in 1989.  With the release of their third album, Hold Me Up (1990), Rzeznik took a more dominant role as lead vocalist, eventually becoming the group’s main front man. Goo Goo Dolls’ growing popularity on the college circuit escalated after their track “I'm Awake Now” was featured in the 1991 movie Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare. The band's gritty hard rock found even more favor with the release of the album Superstar Car Wash (1993), which featured the successful single “Fallin' Down”. Drummer Tutuska left the band after a row with Rzeznik over songwriting royalties and was replaced by Mike Malinin. The group’s next album – the last to feature Tutuska - was A Boy Named Goo (1995), which proved to be their most successful album up to that point and included the hit single “Name”. Malinin's presence provoked a more polished, commercial direction, and the band's defining moment came with the massive hit single “Iris” in 1998 - written by Rzeznik for the City of Angels soundtrack. The track stayed in the US Billboard 100 for 18 weeks and helped to propel the Dizzy Up The Girl (1998) to its triple platinum status. Goo Goo Dolls continued to release a series of hit albums – Gutterflower (2002), Something for the Rest of Us (2010), and Magnetic (2013) all landed in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart – but drummer Malinin left the band and the duo of John Rzeznik and Robby Takac have continued using a series of session musicians. Boxes was released in 2016 and was followed by the EP You Should Be Happy the following year. After the release of Miracle Pill (2019), Goo Goo Dolls offered up their first holiday album, It’s Christmas All Over in 2020.