Description

The angst-ridden alt-rock that bands like Nirvana popularized in the early-1990s eventually branched off into a softer, more mature sound with such groups as the Goo Goo Dolls. Although they began as raw and rowdy Replacements-style rockers in the late-'80s, Johnny Rzeznik and company hit paydirt a decade later with the pop ballads "Name" and "Iris."

Biography

This US rock trio, formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1986, comprises bass player and vocalist Robby Takac (b. 30 September 1964), guitarist and vocalist Johnny Rzeznik (b. 1967, USA) and drummer George Tutuska. The band's first two albums were compared to Cheap Trick and the Replacements. They started doing unlikely cover versions on Jed, when the professional crooner Lance Diamond sang guest vocals on a cover version of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Down On The Corner". He also sang on a version of Prince's "I Could Never Take The Place Of Your Man' on Hold Me Up. Both albums featured unpretentious pop punk songwriting, and the band was now being celebrated by a growing number of fans in the media. Their commercial breakthrough came with 1995"s hit single "Name" and A Boy Named Goo, which was produced by Pere Ubu, Hüsker Dü and Sugar accomplice Lou Giordano. Their career showed signs of stalling in 1997 following litigation with their record company Warner Brothers Records and the departure of Tutuska. They were saved by the song "Iris", which became a huge radio hit after featuring on the soundtrack of the Nicolas Cage movie, City Of Angels. Having built up a strong following on the back of that single, the new album Dizzy Up The Girl climbed to number 15 on the Billboard 200 album chart in October 1998. "Slide" hit the US Top 10 the following January as the album continued its march to multi-platinum status. To put out a "best of" album in 2001 seemed just a little premature. Gutterflower, the long-awaited follow-up to Dizzy Up The Girl, was released in April 2002.
DISCOGRAPHY: Goo Goo Dolls (Mercenary/Celluloid 1987)**, Jed (Death/Enigma 1989)**, Hold Me Up (Metal Blade/Warners 1990)***, Superstar Car Wash (Metal Blade/Warners 1993)***, A Boy Named Goo (Metal Blade/Warners 1995)****, Dizzy Up The Girl (Warners 1998)***, Gutterflower (Warners 2002)****.
COMPILATIONS: What I Learned About Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce (1987-2000) (Warners 2001)***.

Encyclopedia of Popular Music
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