Green Day

Green Day is an American rock band formed in Rodeo, California, in 1987 by lead singer and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their third album Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 20 million copies in the United States. Green Day has been credited with reigniting mainstream interest in punk rock.Before taking its current name in 1989, the band was named Sweet Children. They were part of the late 1980s and early 1990s Bay Area punk scene that emerged from 924 Gilman Street, a club in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases were with Lookout! Records, including their first album 39/Smooth (1990). 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 (1991). Though the albums Insomniac (1995), Nimrod (1997), and Warning (2000) 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 (2004), found popularity with a younger generation and sold six million copies in the US. Their next album 21st Century Breakdown was released in 2009. It was followed by a trilogy of albums, ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!, released in September, November, and December 2012, respectively. The trilogy did not commercially perform as well as expected, in comparison to their previous albums, largely due to a lack of promotion and Armstrong entering rehab. These albums were followed by Revolution Radio (2016)—their third to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200—Father of All Motherfuckers (2020), and Saviors (2024).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, the Coverups, and 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: 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, guitarist friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, both 15 years old at the time, along with bassist Sean Hughes and drummer Raj Punjabi, a fellow student from Pinole Valley High School, formed the band Desecrated Youth and played together in Punjabi's house garage in Rodeo, California.

Biography summary from English Wikipedia, photograph via Wikimedia Commons.