About Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 20 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.
Before taking its current name in 1989, the band was named Blood Rage, then Sweet Children. They were part of the late 1980s/early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from the 924 Gilman Street club in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! Records, including their first album, 39/Smooth . For most of the band's career, they have been a power trio with Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in 1990 before the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk . Though the albums Insomniac , Nimrod and Warning did not match the success of Dookie, they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum status, while Warning achieved gold. Green Day's seventh album, a rock opera called American Idiot , found popularity with a younger generation, selling six million copies in the U.S. Their next album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009 and achieved the band's best chart performance. It was followed by a trilogy of albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, released in September, November, and December 2012, respectively. The trilogy did not perform as well as expected commercially, in comparison to their previous albums, largely due to a lack of promotion and Armstrong entering rehab. They were followed by Revolution Radio , which became their third to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, Father of All Motherfuckers and Saviors .
In 2010, a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The musical was nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design and Best Lighting Design, winning the latter two. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015, their first year of eligibility. Members of the band have collaborated on the side projects Pinhead Gunpowder, The Network, Foxboro Hot Tubs, The Longshot and The Coverups. They have also worked on solo careers.
Green Day has sold roughly 75 million records worldwide as of 2024, making them one of the best-selling music artists. The group has been nominated for 20 Grammy Awards and won five of them, with Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams", and Best Musical Show Album for American Idiot: The Original Broadway Cast Recording.
In 1987, friends and guitarists Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, along with bassist Sean Hughes and drummer Raj Punjabi, a fellow student from Pinole Valley High School, formed band "Blood Rage", the name taken from the eponymous film, and played together in Punjabi's father's house garage at Rodeo, California; a few months later, the band renamed to Sweet Children. One of their first songs written together was "Best Thing in Town". The group's first live performance under the name Sweet Children took place on October 17, 1987, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California. In 1988, Armstrong and Dirnt began working with former Isocracy drummer John Kiffmeyer, also known as "Al Sobrante", who replaced original drummer Raj Punjabi. It was around this time that bassist Sean Hughes also left the band, causing Dirnt to switch from guitar to bass. Armstrong cites the band Operation Ivy as a major influence and a group that inspired him to form a band.
In 1988, Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label. In April 1989, the band released its debut extended play, 1,000 Hours. Shortly before the EP's release, the group dropped the name Sweet Children; according to Livermore, this was done to avoid confusion with another local band, Sweet Baby. Sweet Children adopted the name Green Day, instead, due to the members' fondness for cannabis. The phrase "green day" was slang in the Bay Area, where the band originated, for spending a day doing nothing but smoking marijuana. Armstrong once admitted in 2001 that he considered it to be "the worst band name in the world".
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