Goo Goo Dolls

成立于美國紐約水牛城的三人搖滾團體。成軍15年以來發行過6張專輯，前4年摸索期所發行的兩張專輯并未讓他們嘗到成名的滋味，卻使得其樂風在樂壇中留下良好的印象。1991年的第三張專輯開始漸露頭角，逐漸發展起來。 在這淘汰率快速且變化多端的搖滾樂壇中，能成軍超過15個寒暑，并且愈戰愈勇，后勢強勁的團體，已不多見了，但這組來自紐約水牛城由Johnny Rzeznik(主唱/吉他)、Robby Takac (貝斯)與Mike Malinin (鼓手)三位所組成的Goo Goo Dolls卻以他們扎實的表演水準，引領獨特流暢的音樂潮流經歷15個年頭至今仍然屹立不搖！ 1985年便成軍的Goo Goo Dolls以原始的團名The Sex Maggots加上原始鼓手George Tutuska在各個俱樂部中以專門翻唱別人作品的搖滾團四處走唱。很快的他們于97年被一家專門出版重金屬搖滾的廠牌Metal Blade簽入旗下發行首張同名專輯，陸續的在87-90年間發行了三張專輯，直到93年的專輯《Superstar Car Wash》的發行，終于以單曲“We Are The Normal”進駐現代搖滾榜并打開知名度，獲得樂界一致好評。 日益成熟的作品，更加流暢的旋律讓95年的第五張專輯不但銷售一舉大破兩百萬張，單曲“Name”更是挺進流行單曲榜Top 5。此時原鼓手George Tutuska求去換上新任鼓手Mike Malinin接著他們整裝再出發，繼續綻放燦爛火花，發行了他們于樂壇中立下的新里程碑專輯《Dizzy Up The Girl》輯中一曲為電影《City Of Angels》所譜寫的作品“Iris”不但穩坐點播榜18周冠軍，更入圍41屆格萊美最佳年度唱片、年度歌曲及最佳流行演唱團體三項大獎提名，整個90年可說是Goo Goo Dolls開花結果豐收的年代！ Early in their career, Buffalo natives the Goo Goo Dolls were frequently dismissed by critics as mere imitators of the Replacements; however, the band refined and mainstreamed their sound enough to become of the most popular adult alternative rock bands of the latter half of the 90s, selling millions of records to audiences largely unfamiliar with their inspirations. Thats no knock on the band, either — their music simply improved in craft and accessibility as the years progressed, and radio happened to be receptive to what a decade earlier would have been considered collegiate power pop. Thus, the band landed two huge hits with the acoustic ballads Name and Iris. The Goo Goo Dolls were formed in Buffalo, NY, in 1985 by guitarist/vocalist Johnny Rzeznik, bassist Robby Takac, and drummer George Tutuska, initially under the name the Sex Maggots (the new name 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 its own songs. Their early sound recalled the Replacements origins as a bratty punk band (circa Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash) — 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 The Goo Goo Dolls or First Release). 1989s Jed continued in a similar vein; the college radio breakthrough came with 1990s Hold Me Up, a Replacements-ish power pop record. 1993s Superstar Car Wash was the Goo Goo Dolls artistic breakthrough; though it did nothing to quell the Replacements comparisons, it was a finely crafted pop/rock record, and its lead single, We Are the Normal, was co-written with Replacements leader Paul Westerberg himself. Still, Superstar Car Wash wasnt the commercial force the band hoped it would be, especially in light of the success of similar bands like the Gin Blossoms. That all changed with 1995s 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 nationwide, and went Top Five late in the year; platinum sales for the album followed close behind. Unfortunately, drummer Tutuska was no longer around to enjoy the bands success; prior to the albums release, hed been sacked and replaced by drummer Mike Malinin. Dissatisfied with the royalty rates in their Metal Blade contract, the band waged a legal battle that wound up allowing them to jump to parent company Warner Brothers. Somewhat drained, Rzeznik and the band shook off a case of writers block to contribute the ballad Iris to the soundtrack of the 1998 Nicolas Cage/Meg Ryan romance City of Angels. Appearing that April, the song was a monster smash, although it was never released as a single (so its official Top Ten pop chart status doesnt convey how popular it was); for a better indicator, Iris spent nearly a year on Billboards airplay charts, including an astonishing 18 weeks at number one, and was nominated for three Grammys. The bands next album, Dizzy Up the Girl, was released in September, during the middle of Iriss marathon airplay run, and sold over three million copies. Its clean, polished sound completed the 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, and the Grammy-nominated Black Balloon, and the band toured heavily in support. The Goo Goo Dolls revamped their sound for 2001s career retrospective, Ego, Opinion, Art & Commerce. A year later, the trio hit the charts with Here Is Gone from their seventh studio album, Gutterflower. The CD/DVD combo Live in Buffalo: July 4, 2004 helped fans endure the long wait for the bands next studio album, Let Love In, which didnt appear until 2006.