Teen People Special Edition

The world lost a potentially great plumber when Goo Goo Dolls frontman John Rzeznik quit the business. But it gained a talented singer and songwriter. In 1985, John gave up woking on pipes for working out his own pipes - that is, vocals - onstage.

But it took more than a decade for his decision to pay off. For most of their existence, the Buffalo-based Goo Goo Dolls were a hard-rocking garage punk band that filled clubs with appreciative fans but strugged to sell records.

It wasn't until 1995, when an atypical song from their fifth album, A Boy Named Goo, began picking up airplay that the band got their belated break. That single, "Name," a sensitive acoustic ballad that sounded nothing like their old raucous material, won them millions of fans unfamiliar with their previous 10-year discography. (Speaking of names, the Goo Goo Dolls took theirs from a silly toy they saw advertised in the back of a magazine. Now they regret the decision; they've said they hate the name and wish they could change it.)

The band capitalized on the success of "Name" with an even bigger, even more sensitive ballad: "Iris" from the City of Angels soundtrack, which became a colossal hit. (Curiously, the word "Iris" is never actually mentioned in the song.) Its success paved the way for the Goo Goo Dolls' sixth album, Dizzy Up the Girl, whose hits "Dizzy, "Slide" and "Black Balloon" helped show the group's new legions of fans that the Goo Goo Dolls may be sensitive, but they're not afraid to rock. - J.B.