A Boy Named Goo

A Boy Named Goo is the fifth studio album by American rock band Goo Goo Dolls, released in 1995 on Warner Bros. As a commercial success, it has been RIAA-certified as double-platinum.

A Boy Named Goo
Studio album by Goo Goo Dolls
Released	March 14, 1995
Recorded	1994
Studio	BearTracks Studios, Suffern, NY and Trackmaster Studios, Buffalo, NY
Genre	Power pop[1] post-grunge[1] pop punk[2]
Length	42:14
Label	Warner Bros. Metal Blade
Producer	Lou Giordano, Rob Cavallo, Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls chronology
Superstar Car Wash (1993) A Boy Named Goo (1995) Bang! (1997)
Singles from A Boy Named Goo
"Only One" Released: February 1995 "Flat Top" Released: 1995 "Name" Released: September 26, 1995 "Naked" Released: January 1996 "Long Way Down" Released: March 1996

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[5]
The Philadelphia Inquirer	[6]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[7]

History

This is the Goo Goo Dolls' last studio album with George Tutuska on drums; he was replaced by Mike Malinin just before the album was released. This album is the Goo Goo Dolls' first studio album to not have 14 tracks. The song "Stand Alone" was written by George Tutuska, and because John Rzeznik didn't want to exploit George's efforts after his dismissal, the song was only included on a promo version of the album. On the wide-release version, it is replaced with "Disconnected" and "Slave Girl", which were initially B-sides to the "Only One" single. On the same promo, "Ain't That Unusual" was labeled as "Someday". The two replacement songs are covers of songs by defunct Buffalo and Sydney punk bands The Enemies and Lime Spiders.

The song "Name" is well known as the Goo Goo Dolls' first hit. According to lead singer John Rzeznik, the song's unusual composition came about "quite accidentally".

This album also marked the band's last with the Metal Blade Records imprint.

Walmart controversy

On June 5, 1996, the band's label, Warner Bros., released a statement claiming that Walmart had decided to stop selling A Boy Named Goo because some Walmart customers had complained that the album cover was offensive. The statement claimed that some customers had incorrectly thought that the child on the cover was smeared in blood rather than blackberry juice. Walmart acknowledged that they had decided to stop selling the album, but denied Warner Bros.'s claim that this was because of complaints about the cover art, instead ascribing the decision to weak sales.[8] Of the reports that Walmart customers had thought that the child on the cover was smeared in blood, Rzeznik said, "The name of the album is A Boy Named Goo. The picture is of a boy covered with goo. What part of this concept are they unclear on?"[9]

Track listing

All songs written by John Rzeznik, except where noted.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Long Way Down"	3:28
2.	"Burnin' Up" (Rzeznik, Takac, George Tutuska)	2:29
3.	"Naked"	3:43
4.	"Flat Top"	4:30
5.	"Impersonality" (Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska)	2:41
6.	"Name"	4:30
7.	"Only One"	3:18
8.	"Somethin' Bad" (Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska)	2:30
9.	"Ain't That Unusual"	3:19
10.	"So Long" (Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska)	2:33
11.	"Eyes Wide Open" (Rzeznik, Takac, Tutuska)	3:56
12.	"Disconnected" (Joe Bompczyk, Bob Guariglia, Pete Secrist, Fred Suchman) (The Enemies cover)	3:00
13.	"Slave Girl" (Mick Blood, Richard Jakimyszyn) (Lime Spiders cover)	2:17

Original track listing

The track listing for advance copies—before George Tutuska was fired from the band—was slightly different.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Long Way Down"	3:39
2.	"Burnin"	2:29
3.	"Naked"	3:44
4.	"Flat Top"	4:30
5.	"Impersonality"	2:40
6.	"Your Name"	4:31
7.	"Only One"	3:18
8.	"Something Bad"	2:31
9.	"Someday" ("Ain't That Unusual")	3:22
10.	"So Long"	2:33
11.	"Stand Alone"	3:43
12.	"Eyes Wide Open"	3:57

Covers and media appearances

Haste the Day, a metalcore band, covered the song "Long Way Down" for their album When Everything Falls.

The song "Ain't That Unusual" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1995 film Angus. A remix of the song "Long Way Down" was also featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 film Twister.

Personnel

• John Rzeznik – lead and rhythm guitar, lead and backing vocals
• Robby Takac – bass guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on tracks 2, 5, 8, 10, and 13
• George Tutuska – drums

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1995–1996) Peak position Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[10] 15 US Billboard 200[11] 27

Year-end charts Chart (1996) Position US Billboard 200[12] 62

Certifications and sales

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[13]	Platinum	100,000^^
United States (RIAA)[14]	2× Platinum	2,000,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Lindsay, Cam (December 17, 2015). "Rank Your Records: John Rzeznik Plays Favorites with the Goo Goo Dolls Records". Vice. Retrieved June 25, 2018.
2. "Album of the Day". Rhino Entertainment. March 14, 2016. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
3. Raggett, Ned. "A Boy Named Goo – Goo Goo Dolls". AllMusic. Retrieved May 1, 2012.
4. McKeough, Kevin (March 16, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Warner)". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 22, 2017.
5. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Goo Goo Dolls". The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 0-85712-595-8.
6. Cristiano, Nick (March 19, 1995). "Goo Goo Dolls: A Boy Named Goo (Metal Blade/Warner)". The Philadelphia Inquirer.
7. Harris, Keith (2004). "Goo Goo Dolls". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. p. 338. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
8. Reece, Douglas (1996-06-29). "Wal-Mart Halts 'A Boy Named Goo' Reorders". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 64.
9. "Wal-mart Shoppers' Protest Goo Goo Dolls' New Album". Orlando Sentinel. 1996-06-09. Retrieved 2018-02-01.
10. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 2876". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
11. "Goo Goo Dolls Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 29, 2020.
12. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 1996". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
13. "Canadian album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Music Canada. Retrieved 4 June 2019.
14. "American album certifications – Goo Goo Dolls – A Boy Named Goo". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 4 June 2019. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH.