The Goo Goo Dolls

The Goo Goo Dolls initially consisted of John Rzeznik (vocals, guitar), Robby Takac (vocals, bass guitar) and George Tutuska (drums, percussion). 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 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 1987 on Mercenary Records, but was picked up in 1988 by Celluloid Records, a larger record company. The band released its second album, Jed, in 1989 after moving to Los Angeles.

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" -- as well their then concert favorite, Two Days in February. Despite being earlier dismissed as having a sound too similar to The Replacements, as well as being embraced by local college radio and punk scenes (including playing such venues as CBGB), the Goo Goo Dolls' third release had incorporated elements of heavy metal, pop rock, and punk rock. 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 significant media attention. The critical success and encouraging sales of their 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. "We Are the Normal" (the single for which Rzeznik asked frontman Paul Westerberg of The Replacements to write the lyrics), received a major push toward play on college and independent radio, while 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. (wikipedia)

The Goo Goo Dolls lyrics :

• The Goo Goo Dolls - Slide
• The Goo Goo Dolls - Here Is Gone
• The Goo Goo Dolls - Iris