Green Day Biography

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1986, emerging from the punk scene from Berkeley, California. They made their mainstream breakthrough in 1994, along with the punk rock genre in general. The band sold over 85 million records to date and won several awards. In 2015 they were included into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Dookie

Punk revivalists Green Day’s music can be broken down into 2 eras. Naturally, during its early years, the band was a group of rebellious boys who didn’t take life seriously. The founder, Billie Joe Armstrong (vocals) and Mike Dirnt (guitar) were childhood friends. They began recording together at the age of 17, along with John Kiffmeyer (drums). In 1990 the trio released their debut album, 39/Smooth.

The band easily gained a fanbase and, their next two albums, Kerplunk and Dookie received critical acclaim. The latter marked the acceptance of punk into the commercial industry. The Diamond-certified record peaked at number 2 on the Billboard 200. It also led to Green Day appearing on MTV and performing at high-profile festivals. The next album, Insomniac was a commercial success as well but didn’t make such an impact. Moreover, the following albums went by almost unnoticed, except Nimrod (1997), due to its extremely popular song Good Riddance. 

American Idiot & 21st Century Breakdown

Only in 2004, did Green Day reclaim their glory. A more mature band, with meaningful, witty songs about the absurd, modern world surfaced with the release of American Idiot. The Grammy-awarded concept album generated numerous hits. The songs tell the story of Jesus of Suburbia, an anti-hero, from the perspective of an ordinary lower-middle-class teenager. The 5-piece rock opera Jesus Of Suburbia, Holiday, Boulevard of Broken Dreams and Wake Me Up When September Ends all marked the band’s most culturally rich period.

In 2009, they returned with another concept album, 21st Century Breakdown. It depicted the love story between two punks, during the post-Bush period. The album attacks both politics and religion and represents Armstrong’s most sincere and vulnerable composition ever written. It is broken into 3 fragments: “Heroes and Cons”, “Charlatans and Saints”, and “Horseshoes and Handgrenades”. It spawned three successful singles, most noteworthy 21 Guns.

Photo source: Discogs