Goo Goo Dolls lead singer Johnny Rzeznik swears he’s never had “Iris” on his playlist or had sex with him.
“No, never!” he exclaimed at the 2026 Songwriters Hall of Fame gala last week. “I can’t do that, oh my god, can you even imagine that?”
Rzeznik, 60, mimed calling out to the woman, saying, “Hey, baby, can you hear this? Yes, I’m here!”
He also joked that among the musicians attending the same event, “I wonder if there are people who have done that.”
Rzeznik married Melina Gallo in 2005 and they have a daughter, Liliana.
In 1985, Rzeznik formed the Goo Goo Dolls with bassist Robbie Takak, and the band hit it big in the 1990s with a string of hits, including “Slide,” “Name,” and their biggest song, “Iris.”
The frontman told Page Six that his finances were “really good” until Napster came along and then iTunes and streaming.
But Rzeznik is philosophical about the situation.
“What?” he shrugged. “I’m really lucky to be able to make a living playing live.”
The Grammy nominee said he remembered the first time he heard a Goo Goo Dolls song on the radio.
“I was in the supermarket at about 3 a.m. and music was coming through the ceiling speakers and I thought, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted people to listen to my music, but what about in a supermarket?'” he recalled. You know, at that point I felt like I had jumped the shark. ”
Rzeznik was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame along with Walter Afanasyev, who co-wrote “All I Want for Christmas is You” with Mariah Carey, Terry Brittain and Graham Lyle. Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of KISS. Kenny Loggins. Alanis Morissette. Christopher “Tricky” Stewart. And Taylor Swift.
The 36-year-old “Bad Blood” singer made history as the youngest woman ever to be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
In her acceptance speech, she tearfully thanked her family, including her parents, Scott and Andrea Swift, and older brother Austin Swift, for “uprooting their whole lives” to move from Pennsylvania to Nashville to support her music career.
