Band Had 7 Big Hits in Just 3 Years...What HAPPENED to Them IS Truly TRAGIC... | Professor of Rock

Coming up… an interview with the most underappreciated band of the first half of the 90s, the Gin Blossoms. They created a newly flawless major label debut New Miserable Experience, but during the recording of it, their primary songwriter and guitarist Doug Hopkins had to be fired due to his out-of-control drinking. Then their debut album imploded when it was first released in the summer of 92. The Gin Blossoms thought they were DOA. But then a year later, their music video for Hey Jealousy caught fire on MTV and radio started playing this debut single which was over a year old and the band blew up. They would have four big hits including Hey Jealousy, Until I Fall Away, Allison Road, and Found About You and the album would sell 4 million copies, but with their rise, their former bandmate watched all of this from the sidelines and ended up taking his own life. The band would go on to have another three hits off their next album.. 7 hits in just over 3 years but then just a quickly as they blew up, they imploded… breaking up a short time later. I tracked down singer Robin Wilson and guitarist Jesse Velenzuala to get into it. The story is next on Professor of Rock.
Thank you to this episode’s sponsor, Zenni
GET ZENNI Glasses HERE: imp.i279709.net/vn5gLd
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Executive Producer
Brandon Fugal
Honorary Producers
SRoth, Eric Casella, Sherill Thatcher, Christina Root, K&K Bosemer
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check out my Hand Picked Selection Below
Professor's Store
- Van Halen OU812 Vinyl Album amzn.to/3tLsII2
- The 80s Collection amzn.to/3mAekOq
- 100 Best Selling Albums amzn.to/3h3qZX9
- Ultimate History of 80s Teen Movie amzn.to/3ifjdKQ
- 80s to 90s VHS Video Cover Art amzn.to/2QXzmIX
- Totally Awesome 80s A Lexicon amzn.to/3h4ilrk
- Best In Ear Headphones (I Use These Every Day) amzn.to/2ZcTlIl
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out The Professor of Rock Merch Store -bit.ly/ProfessorMerch
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Check Out Patron Benefits
bit.ly/ProfessorofRockVIPFan
Help out the Channel by purchasing your albums through our links! As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you, thank you for your support.
Click here for Premium Content: bit.ly/SignUpForPremiumContent
bit.ly/Facebook_Professor_of_...
bit.ly/Instagram_Professor_of...
#classicrock #80smusic #vinylstory #onehitwonder
Hey Music Junkies, Professor of Rock always here to celebrate the greatest artists and the greatest songs of all time. if you remember making a pitcher of Kool Aid with just the right mix of sugar and the packet growing up you’ll dig this channel of deep musical nostalgia make sure to subscribe below right now and click the bell so that you always know when our new ones drop g. . also check out our exclusive content on Patreon and our latest merch… It’s time for out latest edition of Revelations- where featured artists go deep on their greatest songs. Stories you won’t hear anywhere else! Today we have a special session with one of the most underappreciated group of the 90s. one of my favorites of the time. In 1993 when Grunge was coming off of its peak and Hip Hop and Rap were starting to dominate the charts there was band that didn’t quite fit into a category. they weren’t grunge, they weren’t really alternative, there weren’t Pop they were an anomaly. Gin Blossoms released New Miserable Experience in the late summer of 1992… It didn’t do anything for almost a year.
Gin Blossoms were comprised of lead singer Robin Wilson, Guitarist Jesse Valenzuela bassist Bill Teen, Drummer Philip Rhodes and guitarist and primary songwriter Doug Hopkins who was credited for his performance and writing but not as an active band member. That’s because Hopkins who suffered from depression and alcoholism was fired near the end of the sessions and replaced with scott Johnson who didn’t play on the record. The band’s breakout hit was Hey Jealousy, it was written clear back in 1989 and released in 92 as the lead single from New Miserable Experience but it flopped. Things were going downhill fast.
However, A&M Records commissioned a video for the song and actually Three different videos were shot before the label approved one and sent it to MTV, This got them play and the label. re-released the song in the summer of 1993, and with the rise of the video and a steady stream and radio play it gave the band their first hit and sent the album into the stratosphere, eventually going 4-time platinum.

[@ProfessorofRock]

Poll: What is your pick for the GREATEST song of the 90s?

[@flavellinator]

Bands like the Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, and Better Than Ezra gave me hope during the grunge area of the '90s...

[@breakercassidy6946]

RIP Doug Hopkins. “Found Out About You” and “Hey Jealousy” are maybe the two best songs ever written about a break up.

[@tmorelli1982]

You can tell Robin and company are bitter that all anybody wants to talk about are the Hopkins tunes lol. Serves em right.

[@DarrellSt.Blaine]

The Gin Blossoms and the Counting Crows really defined that era for me.

[@pbales8951]

I can honestly say that the Gin Blossoms were never underappreciated by me. I've listened to them almost constantly since 1992, and I have all of their albums. Doug Hopkins had some of the most brilliant and gut-wrenching lyrics that have always resonated with me. "She had nothing left to say, so she said she loved me. And I stood there grateful for the lie" from Lost Horizons. "If you don't expect to much from me, you might not be let down" from Hey Jealousy. Some of music's finest lyrics and literature's greatest works come from those troubled souls that were able to express those feelings that we "normal" people cannot.

[@melissacharman827]

Tempe. AZ in the 90s. What a lucky girl I was then. Local bands like the Gin Blossoms used to play house parties just for fun. They were my backyard neighbors and you could hear them practicing out of their open windows. Cycling by Mrs Rita's everyday on the way to class. I sure do miss those days.

[@GoddessLadyRei]

Bless their hearts for giving Doug credit where credit is due.

[@ericgaskins571]

I saw these guys at Saturday night live in 96. Phil Hartman was the host. It was the last time he was ever on the show. We got to meet the band when they were coming in for sound check. They were really nice to us and I got a pic with them. One of my favorite bands. The 90s were just the best years. Today sucks

[@markpolice3585]

Gin Blossoms remind me of my college days better than the actual people i went to school with.

[@billystutz55]

Doug Hopkins was amazing talent and songwriter. Criminally underrated. Had his demons not got the best of him he could’ve potentially became one of the greats. R.I.P. Doug Hopkins

[@barrysmith8920]

R.I.P. Doug 🌹

[@TommyRibs]

Hard to believe that this music came out over 30 years ago.

[@andreabeth2352]

I have never stopped listening to Gin Blossoms. They will always be one of my all time favorite bands.

[@shelliemedema165]

I was born in the 60s, grew up in the 70s, partied in the 80s, fell in love with 90s. I absolutely love your channel. You bring it all back for me❤

[@greggroovy001]

Found out about you .... still one of my all time favourite Songs! I actually played it earlier today. I've never got sick of this song, no matter how many times I've listened to it. A real Masterpiece.....

[@jonathanfloming1045]

Every once in a while....there comes a band with the right sound.. bringing the right words ...at the right time. 🔥

[@shakarocks]

New Miserable Experience is one of the best albums of the nineties.

[@StevieDrawStuff]

I love how humble they are and that they are giving credit to Doug still.

[@steveokahn7249]

For me, Gin Blossoms and Toad the Wet Sprocket are the "must see" bands when in town. Both just did things their own way and just produced great music. I have always said that if I could have been in a band it would be one of those two because it is music you could play every day and not grow tired of it...just in that perfect groove in energy and listenability.