John Rzeznik was born December 5, 1965 in Buffalo, New York. His parents were Joseph and Edith Rzeznik, and he grew up with his four older sisters, Phyllis, Frances, Gladys and Kate. He was raised in a small blue collar neighborhood called Polonia, on the corner of Clark and Kent. His childhood was rough, when he suffered constant abuse from his alcoholic father. He began to rapidly rebel and by the age of fifteen hated his father. That year Joseph Rzeznik died in a diabetic coma. A year later his mother died of a heart attack.

John moved into his own apartment when he was seventeen, finished high school and went to college, but dropped out during his sophomore year. When he was nineteen his cousing introduced him to Robby Takac, and the two hired drummer George Tutuska and then fromed the Sex Maggots. Soon after, due to complications from the press, they changed their name to the Goo Goo Dolls. At first John didn't sing any songs lead but on their second album, "Jed", he got a shot at it and liked what he heard. "I just got these ideas in my head…" he says of his new introduction into the world of singing.

John from then on started writing songs for the band and soon became prime singer.

In 1995 he solidified his position when the Goo Goo Dolls scored their first number 1 hit with his song "Name". He was terrified by the thought of the music business trying to make him into something he wasn't, so he fell into a terrible case of writer's block.

In 1998, he was relieved when asked to write a song for the soundtrack to "City of Angels", when he wrote the power ballad "Iris". "Iris" was their second number 1 hit and their biggest to date. With their latest album "Dizzy up the Girl doing well on the charts and one more number 1 hit with "Slide" under his belt, he has helped to established that the Goo Goo Dolls are here to stay.

• Bio by David with help from Jimmy