The origin of Crash Test Dummies is tied to the history of two Winnipeg nightspots, the Spectrum Cabaret and the Blue Note Cafe, owned by Curtis Riddell.

The album eventually reached sales of 400,000 in Canada, largely due to the popularity of the hit single "Superman's Song", which appeared on the RPM Top Singles chart that year,[6] featured on the soundtrack of an episode of the TV series "Due South" and earned the band the 1992 Juno Award for Group of the Year.

[8][9] Particularly instrumental in increasing the band's exposure in the American market was the appearance of a new type of radio format, adult album-oriented alternative rock (AAA).

In January 1995, the band released "The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead" (a cover of XTC's 1992 track) as a single and on the soundtrack of the Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels comedy Dumb and Dumber.

[11] Free from major-label restrictions, the Dummies surprised their fans in 2001 by putting their solo projects on hold for a fifth studio album and tour.

After suffering a near-fatal car accident in the fall of 2000, Brad found himself recuperating in the town of Argyle, Nova Scotia.

It was there that he met some local "lobster fishermen" who happened to be quite musically inclined – Kent Greene, Dave Morton, and Danny MacKenzie.

Brad, Dan, and Ellen returned as Crash Test Dummies at the end of 2002 with Jingle All the Way, a long-rumoured Christmas album.

Ellen sang backing vocals and Dan played bass, though much of the music – funky grooves that would not have seemed out of place on Give Yourself A Hand – was performed by other musicians.

Songs of the Unforgiven, the eighth studio album under the Crash Test Dummies name, was recorded not long after Puss 'n' Boots.

As such, he stopped recording and touring and instead worked as a songwriting teacher in New York City, while participating in yoga, chanting, and meditation (the latter influencing Roberts's side-project Satsang Circus).

In addition a new online store was opened allowing users to purchase downloads from all of the band's post-BMG releases, including Cape Breton Lobster Bash series, a collection of songs written about Brad Roberts's experiences at Cape Breton and an annual tradition known as the "Lobster Bash".

[16] During the tour, Brad Roberts began the habit of taking photographs at random and posting them on his blog and the band's Facebook page.

In June 2012, Brad Roberts wrote a blog post saying that there is an incomplete new album lying around, but that producer Stewart Lerman is currently too busy with other projects to work on it.

[18] This led to the release of the re-vamped lineup's debut single "Promised Land", featuring both Marc Mysterio and Brad Roberts on lead vocals, with Mark Crozer on Bass and Drums.

[20] Brad Roberts of Crash Test Dummies described how the new group came to be to scores of media outlets, "Marc Mysterio and I shared a few common friends and when his deal with Godsmack fell through, I stepped up to record the new song.

In an interview about the tour, Roberts provided an update about the other members of the band, who he still keeps in touch with: Dan Roberts now has a family in Winnipeg, Mitch Dorge devotes most of his time now to motivational speaking at schools, Ellen Reid is married and spends her time creating elaborate Facebook pages with all her own illustrations, and Benjamin Darvill has found success for himself as Son of Dave.

Roberts confirmed that he is the last remaining active member of Crash Test Dummies, with it just being him and guitarist Stuart Cameron going on tour.

[25] In the summer of 2017, the full band, except for Benjamin Darvill, reunited for a show in Winnipeg and Brad Roberts went on a tour of South Africa in early 2018.

[26] The band continued to perform together that summer, including a stop at Ontario's Burl's Creek Event Grounds in July.

Crash Test Dummies recorded as a full five piece band from their debut album The Ghosts That Haunt Me until Give Yourself a Hand.

At this time, the most notable instrumentation of the band's music included Brad Roberts' lead guitar, Ellen Reid's keyboards, and Benjamin Darvill's harmonica.