Bill Leen

Gin Blossoms is an American alternative rock band formed in 1987 in Tempe, Arizona.

They independently recorded their first full-length album, Dusted, which was released in December 1989.

By the early 1990s, Wilson and Valenzuela had switched roles, with Wilson taking on lead vocal duties and Valenzuela concentrating on rhythm guitar and backing vocals.

Along with Leen on bass and Hopkins on lead guitar, Phillip Rhodes became the new drummer.

After being signed to A&M Records, the band began to work on their first major-label album.

Initial attempts faltered and the band released an EP, Up and Crumbling, instead.

Gin Blossoms named their second album New Miserable Experience.

They rose to prominence following the 1992 release of their first major label album, New Miserable Experience, and the first single released from that album, "Hey Jealousy".

"Hey Jealousy" became a Top 25 hit and went gold, and New Miserable Experience eventually went quadruple platinum; four other charting singles were released from the album.

In February 1992, while still working to complete it, founding member and lead guitarist/songwriter Hopkins drank heavily and grew increasingly depressed.

With the other members hesitant to fire Hopkins, A&M forcefully removed him from the band and withheld $15,000 owed to Hopkins until he agreed to sign over half of his publishing royalties and relinquish his mechanical royalties.

Hopkins reluctantly agreed to these demands because of his dire financial situation.

Scott Johnson was chosen by the band in December 1992 as Hopkins' stand-in on tour, and became a permanent member in 1994.

New Miserable Experience became the band's breakthrough album.

The first single released from the album was "Hey Jealousy", which had been written by Hopkins.

The song reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and later went gold, largely fueling the success of New Miserable Experience.

Between 1992 and 1996, Gin Blossoms appeared on shows such as Late Show with David Letterman (many times between 1992 and 1996), The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1993, 1994, 1996), The Jon Stewart Show (1993), Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1996), and as a featured musical act on Saturday Night Live (1996).

One appearance on the Late Show With David Letterman featured a joint performance with Gin Blossoms and the members of Kiss, performing the latter's "Christine Sixteen".

Gin Blossoms became a favorite of Late Show musical director Paul Shaffer, and their music was often featured as the show cut to and from commercials.

Estranged from the band, Hopkins died by suicide on December 5, 1993, after a reported five previous attempts (including one for which he was hospitalized two weeks prior to his death).

The following year, another song by Hopkins, "Found Out About You", also reached No. 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and climbed to No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks.

New Miserable Experience eventually reached quadruple platinum status.

The band was also a featured performer in the closing credits of the movie Wayne's World 2 (1993), performing "Idiot Summer" on-screen as part of the fictional concert "Waynestock".

Between their first and second albums, Gin Blossoms contributed the single "Til I Hear It from You" for the soundtrack of the 1995 film Empire Records.

It reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100.

The band's follow-up album, Congratulations I'm Sorry (1996), went platinum and the single "As Long as It Matters" was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Their second major album, Congratulations I'm Sorry, was released in 1996.

Yielding one top-ten hit ("Follow You Down", which peaked at No. 9 Billboard Hot 100), the album went platinum.

The song "As Long as It Matters" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.

With chart success came opportunities to appear as musical guests on late-night television.

Gin Blossoms broke up in 1997.

Gin Blossoms broke up in early 1997.

Wilson and Rhodes launched the Gas Giants while Leen formed a band called Rai and then retired from music to operate a rare book store.

Valenzuela fronted a short-lived outfit called the Low Watts, released a solo album, and kept busy writing and producing.

Johnson joined another Tempe-based band, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers.

Since reuniting in 2001, the band has released Major Lodge Victory in 2006, No Chocolate Cake in 2010, and Mixed Reality in 2018.

During the band's early years, its members included lead guitarist and songwriter Doug Hopkins, bassist Bill Leen, Jesse Valenzuela (lead vocalist at first, later rhythm guitarist and backing vocals), rhythm guitarist Richard Taylor, Taylor's replacement Steven Severson, drummer Chris McCann, McCann's replacement Dan Henzerling, and Severson's replacement Robin Wilson (rhythm guitarist at first, later lead vocalist).

The band's name comes from a photo of W.C. Fields in Kenneth Anger's book Hollywood Babylon, which bore the caption "W.C. Fields with gin blossoms", referring to the actor's telangiectasia-spotted face and rhinophymic nose by the slang term for the skin condition known as rosacea.

Gin Blossoms became well known around the band's hometown of Phoenix.

The band's frequent touring resulted in an increase in popularity.