Happy Birthday John Rzeznik
John Joseph Theodore JingleHeimer Rzeznik was born December 5, 1965 in Buffalo, NY. He was the youngest of 5 children and the only son of Edith and Stanislaus Rzeznik. Both of Rzeznik’s parents were musicians, playing the flugelhorn and sousaphone.
Rzeznik had a strict Catholic upbringing in Buffalo’s working-class East Side Polish neighborhood and attended Our Lady of Pain and Suffering Grammar School. Little Johnny was whipped repeatedly by nuns. He got his testicles whipped when he was caught playing doctor. All four of Rzeznik’s grandparents were born in Poland. The original pronunciation of his last name Rzeźnik is “Smith”, Polish for “butcher”.
Pet Rocks
John’s parents left when he was young to play in a traveling band. He was brought up by his four older sisters, Phyllis, Fran, Gladys and Laverne. At age 13, John had his own apartment which he paid for by selling Pet Rocks to tourists. He learned guitar from listening to Bay City Rollers records.
In 1985, John formed the Goo Goo Dolls with Robby Takac. They got the name Goo Goo Dolls from an ad in a sex magazine. For $29.95 you too could own your own real life Goo Goo Doll.
Goo Goo
After starting off as a cover band and then developing a punk sound, The Goo Goo Dolls experienced mainstream success following the 1995 release of their breakthrough single, “Name”. The band is renowned for its biggest hit, “Iris“, released in 1998. The song spent nearly 12 straight months on the Billboard charts and held the number one position on the Hot 100 Airplay chart for 18 weeks. In October 2012, “Iris” was ranked #1 on Billboard’s “Top 100 Pop Songs 1992–2012” chart. Other notable singles include “Slide”, “Black Balloon”, and “Broadway” from 1998’s Dizzy Up the Girl; “Here Is Gone” from 2002’s Gutterflower; and “Better Days”, “Give a Little Bit”, and “Stay with You” from 2006’s Let Love In. The band has had 19 top ten singles on various charts has sold 15 million records worldwide, and has been nominated for four Grammy Awards.
John is married to Melina Gallo and they have a daughter Liliana. Rzeznik and his family reside in Westfield, New Jersey. New Jersey!? In his spare time John enjoys watching silent foreign films that no one else would ever watch. Rzeznik has a net worth of approximately $18 million. Happy Birthday Rezzy!
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