The Gin Blossoms were, in my opinion, the best band ever. I was a fan from the day "Hey Jealousy", their breakthrough hit, was first played on the radio here. Formed in 1987, the Gin Blossoms enjoyed eight songs that hit the top 40 (one other hit the top 75) on at least one Billboard chart, including "Found Out About You", which was a #1 Billboard's Modern Rock chart.
In 1989, the Gin Blossoms released their first official work, Dusted, which included early versions of future hits such as "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You". This CD is extremely difficult to find, and in all my searches I've had no luck with it at all, so if anybody finds a copy of it, please email me!
1991's Up And Crumbling was the Gin Blossoms' debut with A&M Records. A rushed five-track EP, Up And Crumbling became more a collector's item than anything else, as "Mrs. Rita" and "Allison Road" later made their way onto their breakthrough album New Miserable Experience.
New Miserable Experience, the group's 1992 true major-label debut, was their most popular album and included five top 40 hits: "Hey Jealousy", "Mrs. Rita", "Found Out About You", "Until I Fall Away", and "Allison Road". The album sold over two million copies, and made the band a nationwide hit. Unfortunately, Doug Hopkins, who, due to alcohol and depression, had been ousted from the band just before the release of New Miserable Experience, committed suicide at the height of the album's success. The band would never fully recover from the loss of Hopkins' songwriting.
Given that New Miserable Experience's final single, "Allison Road", was still on the charts in 1994, the Gin Blossoms did not begin work on a new album for quite some time. They did, however, contribute several individual songs to different compilations. "'Til I Hear It From You", from the "Empire Records" soundtrack, hit the charts in 1995 and was probably the biggest hit the band ever had. It was during this time that the band began working on their next major album.
Released in 1996, Congratulations, I'm Sorry was the band's second, and unfortunately, final, major album. While including hits such as "Follow You Down", "Day Job", and "As Long As It Matters", the album never was as popular as New Miserable Experience. The band was not able to replace Doug Hopkins' songwriting, and a less popular album was the result.
The problems didn't end there. In late 1997, the band split up. Jesse Valenzuela and Scott Johnson started The Low Watts, but Johnson left shortly thereafter. Meanwhile, Robin Wilson and Phillip Rhodes joined Dan Henzerling, who had worked with the Gin Blossoms during their early years, and G. Brian Scott to form the Gas Giants. After recording their debut From Beyond The Back Burner, Scott left the band, leaving the three former Gin Blossoms. Bill Leen, the final member, left the music business, although he did help the Gas Giants write "Stinking Up The Charts". A week after that Gas Giants album was released, A&M Records released Outside Looking In: The Best Of The Gin Blossoms, a 14-track chronicle of the band, including all nine hits as well rare pieces such as "Just South Of Nowhere" from Up And Crumbling, and a live performance of "Whitewash" at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. In 2000, Wilson and the Gas Giants released The Poppin' Wheelies, a concept album designed as a soundtrack for a proposed animated cartoon series Wilson created about a teenage rock band in space. Meanwhile, in 2001, Jesse Valenzuela released a solo album, Tunes Young People Will Enjoy.
Finally, in early 2002, four of the band members announced their reunion, as well as plans for a re-release of Dusted and a release of a special edition version of New Miserable Experience, rumored to be packaged with a disc of bonus unreleased material. In spring 2002, Robin Wilson, Jesse Valenzuela, Bill Leen, and Scott Johnson embarked on their first tour as the Gin Blossoms in five years, and have been rumored to be working on an album of new material as well.