Before the Goos, Johnny was the guitarist for a garage band called the Beaumonts. He later met Robby Takac through one of the band members, and the two decided to start their own band.
They first started out as a band called Sex Maggot in 1986 (although Johnny denies it), but later became the Goo Goo Dolls after realizing some might consider the band name too offensive. They got their name while drunk, from an add in the back of a magazine for a 'Goo Goo Doll'.
The band consisted of Robby Takac(bass and vocals), Johnny Rzeznik(guitar) and George Tutuska(drums). On Goo Goo Dolls, their first release in 1987, Johnny didn't do vocals. On Jed, their second release in 1989, Johnny sang a few songs throughout the album. Later on a new drummer joined the band (Mike Malinin), which some believe may have brought "good karma" to the group.

With the release of Superstar Carwash (their fourth release, in 1993) and the semi-hit 'We Are The Normal', the band became labelled Replacements wannabes by some. 'We Are The Normal' was written by Johnny, with the help of Paul Westerberg (a member of the Replacements, a now defunct band). They have also placed the Replacements on their list of musical influences.
Then they released A Boy Named Goo (their fifth release, in 1995) and finally got a big hit with 'Name', an acoustic ballad. The only problem with this was that they were known as a loud, indie punk rock band, and they didn't know how their fans would take to it. But their fans (for the most part) stuck by them, and their fame increased drasticly because of the hit they'd tried to bury in the middle of their CD in the hopes that no one would notice it.
For the next few years Johnny was struck with writer's block, and the legal problems they were having with their record label (Metal Blade) didn't help any.
Then they released Dizzy Up The Girl in 1998 (their sixth release, now under the Warner Brothers label), and had another big hit with 'Iris' (from the City of Angels soundtrack). This song is also a ballad, as many of the songs on Dizzy Up The Girl are.
Despite their success they still remember their indie punk rock roots, and many of the songs on the CD are like the ones on the others..loudish rock songs. Though they have evolved as a band, they haven't given up on what they started so many years ago.

Now the group is getting much more recognition, and Johnny has become known as the Goo's lead singer (doing most of the songs and always in the spotlight). He's brought a lot of attention to the once little known band, and usually does most of the talking during their interviews.

They were nominated for three Grammy awards this year, including Record of the Year. My guess is this awesome band'll be around for a while.