Alternative rock band Goo Goo Dolls rose to prominence in the 1990s with major hits like "Name" and "Iris," earning a widespread audience receptive to their mix of jangling guitar-driven pop and acoustic balladry. Initially playing a gritty mix of punk and power pop, they managed to refine and mainstream their sound, going on to sell millions of records over the coming decades. Beginning in the mid-'90s, Goo Goo Dolls notched over a dozen Top Ten and number one singles, peaking in popularity at the end of the decade, though albums like 2002's Gutterflower and 2006's Let Love In helped them maintain a fairly consistent chart presence well into the 21st century. Goo Goo Dolls would occasionally celebrate their past through a retrospective or anniversary, yet they concentrated on new material, regularly issuing new records which they supported with tours. Such steady work allowed them to take such departures as their 2020 seasonal set It's Christmas All Over or having their frontman Johnny Rzeznik handle production duties for the first time on 2022' Chaos in Bloom.
Goo Goo Dolls formed in 1985 in Buffalo, New York. Guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska initially banded together under the name the Sex Maggots -- their new moniker was chosen from an ad in True Detective magazine at the behest of a local club owner. Originally a cover band with a taste for power pop and classic rock & roll, the group soon began writing original songs. Their early sound recalled the Replacements' origins as a bratty punk band: melodic, snotty, and a little bit thrashy. That sound was the reason the band attracted the interest of the heavy metal label Metal Blade, which issued their debut album in 1987 (known either as Goo Goo Dolls or First Release). Released in 1989, the follow-up album, Jed, continued in a similar vein, and the band's college radio breakthrough came with 1990's Hold Me Up, a jangling power pop record.
Released in 1993, Superstar Car Wash was Goo Goo Dolls' artistic breakthrough. A finely crafted pop/rock record, its lead single, "We Are the Normal," was co-written by Replacements leader Paul Westerberg. A modest success, Superstar Car Wash wasn't the commercial force the band hoped it would be. That all changed with 1995's A Boy Named Goo, when an L.A. rock station put the acoustic-driven ballad "Name" into heavy rotation. It was eventually released as a single and climbed into the Top Five later that year; platinum sales for the album followed close behind. Unfortunately, drummer Tutuska was no longer around to enjoy the band's success; prior to the album's release, he'd been sacked and replaced by Mike Malinin.
Dissatisfied with the royalty rates in their Metal Blade contract, Goo Goo Dolls waged a legal battle that wound up allowing them to jump to parent company Warner Bros. Somewhat drained, Rzeznik and the band shook off a case of writer's block to contribute a new ballad, "Iris," to the soundtrack of the 1998 Nicolas Cage/Meg Ryan romance City of Angels. Appearing that April, the song became a monster smash, although it was never released as a single (so its official Top Ten pop chart status doesn't convey how popular it was). For a better indicator, "Iris" spent nearly a year on Billboard's airplay charts, including an astonishing 18 weeks at number one, and was nominated for three Grammys.
The band's next album, Dizzy Up the Girl, was released during the middle of "Iris"'s marathon airplay run and eventually sold over three million copies. Its clean, polished sound completed Goo Goo Dolls' transformation into mainstream pop/rockers who happened to have alternative roots. Further hits from the record followed over the next year, including "Slide," "Dizzy," "Broadway," and the Grammy-nominated "Black Balloon." Although Dizzy Up the Girl quickly became Goo Goo Dolls' highest-selling album ever, none of its singles appeared on the band's 2001's career retrospective, Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce, which focused on earlier material and B-sides instead.
Goo Goo Dolls' audience shrank a bit during the 2000s, although the band still managed to go gold with its seventh studio album, 2002's Gutterflower. A concert recording, Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004, appeared two years later and helped fans endure the long wait for the band's next studio effort, Let Love In, which didn't appear until 2006. It, too, went gold, as did three of its singles: "Better Days," "Stay with You," and a cover of Supertramp's "Give a Little Bit." A traditional greatest-hits album, Greatest Hits, Vol. 1: The Singles, was released in 2007, followed one year later by Vol. 2, which followed Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce's lead by compiling rarities, B-sides, cover songs, and live performances.
Recording sessions for the band's ninth album took place in spring 2009 with producer Tim Palmer. Although a release date was scheduled for February 2010, the band headed back into the studio in January to make several last-minute changes to the album, with longtime producer Rob Cavallo -- who also worked on Dizzy Up the Girl and Gutterflower -- lending his help. Something for the Rest of Us was ultimately released that summer. The album debuted at seven on the Billboard 200 but generated no hit singles. Goo Goo Dolls supported the album into 2011, and in 2012, then turned their attention to recording a new album. The resulting Magnetic appeared in June of 2013, preceded by the single "Rebel Beat." Magnetic peaked at eight on the Billboard charts. Following its release, drummer Mike Malinin departed the band; Rzeznik and Takac chose not to replace him. The pair released Boxes, their first album as a duo, in May 2016; it was preceded by the single "So Alive." The next year, they issued a five-song EP titled You Should Be Happy.
In 2018, the band celebrated the 20th anniversary of their mainstream breakthrough, Dizzy Up the Girl, touring the U.S. and playing the album in its entirety. They capped off the year with the release of a pair of live albums. Their 12th release, Miracle Pill, appeared in September of 2019. With their 2020 touring plans sidelined by the COVID-19 pandemic, Goo Goo Dolls decided instead to work on their first holiday album. Forgoing their rock-oriented approach, the band opted to give It's Christmas All Over a more traditional pop flavor, covering a handful of Christmas classics which they complemented with several original songs. It was released in October of that year. 2022 saw the release of Grounded with the Goo Goo Dolls, a career-spanning live set filmed during lockdown at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California. Shortly after Grounded, Goo Goo Dolls returned with Chaos in Bloom, a new studio collection produced by Johnny Rzeznik. ~ Steve Huey & Andrew Leahey
