Johnny Rzeznik Net Worth, Career, Biography, Facts, Age, Life Story

Johnny Rzeznik is an American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer who has a net worth of $12 million. Rzeznik is best known as the lead singer and guitar player for the band the Goo Goo Dolls, and he has also served as a judge on Fox’s “The Next Great American Band” (2007) and appeared on “Charmed” (2000; 2002) and “The Drew Carey Show” (2002). The Goo Goo Dolls have released 13 studio albums, including their 1987 self-titled debut, 1998’s “Dizzy Up the Girl,” and 2020’s “It’s Christmas All Over,” and sold more than 10 million records. Their singles “Name” (1995), “Iris” (1998), and “Slide” (1998) cracked the top 10 on the “Billboard” Hot 100 chart, and in 2002, Johhny released a solo single, “I’m Still Here (Jim’s Theme)” from the “Treasure Planet” soundtrack, and it reached #10 on the “Billboard” Adult Top 40 Airplay chart. Rzeznik was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2008.

Early Life: Johnny Rzeznik was born John Joseph Theodore on December 5, 1965, in Buffalo, New York. He grew up in a Catholic household with mother Edith (a schoolteacher), father Joe (a postal clerk and bar owner), and four older sisters, Gladys, Phyliss, Fran, and Kate. Johnny’s parents played the flute and clarinet, and sadly, both of them died by the time Rzeznik was 16. Joe, an alcoholic who had suffered three heart attacks, passed away from a diabetic coma in February 1981, and Edith died of a heart attack in October 1982. Johnny has said that when he was14 years old, he saw his father hit his mother, and Rzeznik “punched him so hard in the face that he fell on the floor.” After the death of his parents, Phyliss became Johnny’s legal guardian, and Social Security Survivor Benefit checks paid for his first apartment. Rzeznik attended Corpus Christi Grammar School and McKinley Vocational High School, and he took accordion and guitar lessons during his youth. After graduation, he enrolled at Buffalo State College, but he dropped out after his freshman year.

Career: Johnny formed the Goo Goo Dolls with Robby Takac and George Tutuska in 1985, reportedly taking the name from an ad in “True Detective” magazine. Originally, Takac was the band’s frontman, but Rzeznik gradually became the lead singer. By the time Johnny was 20 years old, the Goo Goo Dolls had signed a record deal with Celluloid, and they released their self-titled debut album in 1987 on a budget of just $750. The album caught the attention of a bigger label, and the band then signed with Metal Blade and released the album “Jed” in 1989. The band began getting support from local college radio stations and venues like CBGB, and they released their third album, “Hold Me Up,” in 1990 and were included on the “Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare” soundtrack in 1991. In 1993, the Goo Goo Dolls released the album “Superstar Car Wash,” and the single “Fallin’ Down” was featured on the soundtrack of Pauly Shore’s “Son in Law.”

In 1995, the band’s fifth album, “A Boy Named Goo,” was a commercial success, going 2x Platinum the U.S. and Platinum in Canada. The album included the band’s first hit single, “Name,” which peaked at #5 on the “Billboard” Hot 100, #2 on the Adult Top 40 Airplay chart, and #1 on the Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock charts. After recording “A Boy Named Goo,” Rzeznik fired George Tutuska, and the band replaced him with Mike Malinin. In 1996, the Goo Goo Dolls sued Metal Blade, alleging that they hadn’t earned royalties from sales of “A Boy Named Goo,” which had sold more than two million copies at the time. The band stated that their original contract with the label was “grossly unfair, one-sided and unenforceable,” and they later reached a settlement with Metal Blade that resulted in their sixth album, 1998’s “Dizzy Up the Girl” being released by Warner Bros. Records. Johnny was hired to write a track for the 1998 “City of Angels” soundtracks, and his contribution, “Iris,” was certified 4× Platinum in the U.S., 2× Platinum in Australia, and 3× Platinum in the U.K. The song was included on “Dizzy Up the Girl,” which went 4× Platinum in the U.S.

After the massive success of “Dizzy Up the Girl,” the band released the Gold albums “Gutterflower” (2002) and “Let Love In” (2006) and were featured on the soundtracks of “Down to You” (2000), “Here on Earth” (2000), “Smallville” (2005), and “Transformers” (2007). The band went on to release five more studio albums: “Something for the Rest of Us” (2010), “Magnetic” (2013), “Boxes” (2016), “Miracle Pill” (2019), and “It’s Christmas All Over” (2020). Besides his work with the Goo Goo Dolls, Johnny has collaborated with several artists, recording “Wish You Were Here” (2001) with Limp Bizkit, “For Your Love” (2003) with The Yardbirds, “Men of War” (2006) with Steve Morse and Michael Lee Jackson, and “Lightning” (2014) with Cash Cash.

Awards and Nominations: With the Goo Goo Dolls, Rzeznik has earned 11 Billboard Music Award nominations, winning Top Adult Top 40 Artist (1998), Top Hot Top 40 Artist (1999), and Top Hot Top 40 Track and Top Adult Top 40 Track for “Slide” (1999). In 1998, the band won two Grammys, Record of the Year and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals for “Iris,” and the following year, “Iris” received a Radio Music Award for Song of the Year – Adult Hit Radio. They have also won Radio Music Awards for Artist of the Year – Alternative/Pop Radio (2000) and Artist of the Year – Adult Hit Radio (2005). The Goo Goo Dolls have earned several ASCAP Pop Awards as well, winning Song of the Year for “Slide” (2000) and the Most Performed Songs award for “Black Balloon” (2001), “Slide” (2001), “Here Is Gone” (2003), and “Better Days” (2007). In 2008, the Songwriters Hall of Fame honored Johnny with a Hal David Starlight Award, and the Goo Goo Dolls were inducted into the Guitar Center RockWalk Hall of Fame in 2013.

Personal Life: Johnny married former model Laurie Farinacci in 1993, three years after meeting her, and they divorced in 1997. Rzeznik began a relationship with Melina Gallo in 2005, and they wed on July 26, 2013, in Malibu. The couple welcomed daughter Liliana on December 22, 2016. Johnny gave up alcohol in 2014 after decades of struggling with alcoholism. Speaking about his sobriety in a 2016 interview, he stated “I had tried 45 to 50 times to get sober before. It’s like, you’re not done until you’re done. And I’m lucky, because I got done before I died.”