Goo Goo Dolls

Goo Goo Dolls are an American rock band based in Buffalo, New York, composed of lead vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik, bassist and vocalist Robby Takac, as well as several rotating members since its formation in 1986.

After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, Goo Goo Dolls experienced mainstream success following the 1995 release of their breakthrough single, "Name". Their 1998 single, "Iris" spent 11 consecutive months on the Billboard Hot 100 and peaked atop the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks. In October 2012, "Iris" placed first on Billboard's "Top 100 Pop Songs 1992–2012" chart. Other singles include "Slide", "Black Balloon", and "Broadway" from Dizzy Up the Girl (1998); "Here Is Gone" from Gutterflower (2002); and "Better Days", "Give a Little Bit", and "Stay with You" from Let Love In (2006).

The band has had seven top-40 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, which includes three top tens. They have sold 15 million records worldwide, and received four Grammy Award nominations.

The band's original lineup included John Rzeznik (guitar, vocals), Robby Takac (bass, vocals), and George Tutuska (drums, percussion). Takac and Tutuska had been long-time friends in school and met Rzeznik while he was playing in the band The Beaumonts with Takac's cousin, Paul Takac, and close friend Michael Harvey who was the inspiration for the band. In 1999 Rolling Stone reported the trio picked their name from a True Detective ad for a toy called a Goo Goo Doll. In 2022, Rzeznik said he didn't remember how they picked the name. "We had a gig and so we had to come up with some kind of a name just to play the show", Rzeznik said. "It's kind of a stupid name."

The band started out playing covers, but went on to develop a punk sound. With Takac as their lead singer, the band released their first album, Goo Goo Dolls, in 1987 on Mercenary Records, but was picked up in 1988 by Celluloid Records, a larger record company. They played around Buffalo's underground music circuit and across the United States, opening for punk bands such as Gang Green, SNFU, Dag Nasty, Bad Religion, Motörhead, ALL, The Dead Milkmen, Doughboys, Big Drill Car, The Gun Club, Uniform Choice, The Dickies, and DRI and playing with fellow Buffalo bands. The band released its second album, Jed, in 1989.

The band released its third album, Hold Me Up, in 1990 and featured Rzeznik as the lead vocalist on five tracks, including the single "There You Are" and "Two Days in February". After being embraced by local college radio and punk scenes (including such venues as CBGB), the Goo Goo Dolls incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop rock, and punk rock into the album. In 1991, the song "I'm Awake Now" was recorded for the soundtrack of Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare.

Superstar Car Wash, released in 1993, received a larger budget from Metal Blade Records. The album was partially recorded at Metalworks Studios in Mississauga, Ontario. The single "We Are the Normal", co-written with Paul Westerberg of The Replacements, Westerberg providing the lyrics, received a major push toward play on college and independent radio, and its video was displayed on MTV's 120 Minutes program. "Fallin' Down" made it onto the 1993 soundtrack of Pauly Shore's hit film Son in Law.

Just before A Boy Named Goo's release, Tutuska was fired from the band and replaced by Mike Malinin. Prior to Tutuska's departure, there was a payment dispute between him and Rzeznik over Tutuska's contribution to the writing of the Superstar Car Wash single "Fallin' Down". During the completion of A Boy Named Goo, Tutuska had told band management that he would not tour behind the album unless royalties were to be split evenly among the three members, a practice Tutuska said had been the band's standard practice ever since the release of its self-titled debut in 1987. Tutuska has said that when he told Rzeznik he had not received royalties from "Fallin' Down", Rzeznik admitted that he had been receiving such royalties for two years.