Green Day facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Green Day
|
|
|---|---|
|
|
| Background information | |
| Also known as |
|
| Origin | East Bay, California, U.S. |
| Genres |
|
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Labels | |
| Members |
|
| Past members |
|
Green Day is a famous American rock band. It was started in the East Bay area of California in 1987. The band's main singer and guitarist is Billie Joe Armstrong. The bassist and backup singer is Mike Dirnt. Tré Cool joined as the drummer in 1990.
In 1994, Green Day released their first big album, Dookie. It was a huge hit! Over 10 million copies were sold in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide. Green Day helped make punk rock popular in the U.S. along with other bands like Bad Religion and the Offspring.
Green Day started in the punk rock music scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. After Dookie became a success, they released three more albums: Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning. These albums also sold very well.
Their 2004 rock opera album, American Idiot, sold five million copies in the United States. Green Day has sold about 75 million records around the world. This makes them one of the best-selling music artists ever! They have won five Grammy Awards. These include Best Alternative Album for Dookie and Best Rock Album for American Idiot.
Contents
Band History: How Green Day Started
Early Years and First Albums (1987–1993)
Green Day released their first album, 39/Smooth, in 1987. They also recorded two shorter albums called EPs: Slappy and Sweet Children. Later, these were combined into one album, 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours.
In late 1990, after their first world tour, their first drummer, Sobrante, left the band. The Lookouts drummer Tré Cool joined as a replacement. He then became the permanent drummer. Green Day toured a lot in 1992 and 1993, playing many shows in Europe. Their second album, Kerplunk, sold about 50,000 copies in the U.S. This was a lot for a punk band back then.
Big Success and New Albums (1994–1996)
The success of Kerplunk got the attention of major record labels. Green Day left their first label and signed with Reprise Records. Some punk rock fans thought this meant Green Day was "selling out" because they joined a bigger label. After signing, the band started working on Dookie.
Dookie was released in February 1994 and became a huge hit. Its music videos for "Longview", "Basket Case", and "When I Come Around" were played on MTV. All these songs reached number one on the Modern Rock Tracks charts.
In 1995, a new song called "J.A.R." was released for the Angus movie soundtrack. It went straight to number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. After that, Green Day's new album, Insomniac, came out in the fall of 1995. Insomniac was a darker, more punk album than Dookie. Rolling Stone Magazine gave it 4 out of 5 stars. The band stopped their European tour to take a break.
Nimrod and Warning Albums (1997–2000)
In 1997, Green Day started working on a new album called Nimrod. It was released in October 1996. The song "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" was a big hit. It won the band an MTV Video Award for Best Alternative Video.
In 2000, Green Day released Warning. This album had songs similar to Nimrod. Warning included the hit "Minority" and a smaller hit with "Warning". Some people thought the band was losing popularity. However, Warning was still certified gold. At the 2001 California Music Awards, Green Day won all eight awards they were nominated for.
American Idiot and World Tours (2003–2009)
In the summer of 2003, the band went into a studio to record new songs. The album was going to be called Cigarettes and Valentines. But after making 20 songs, the master tapes were stolen from the studio! The band was very upset. They decided not to try and remake the stolen album. Instead, they started over, aiming to make something even better. Around this time, Green Day worked with Iggy Pop on two songs for his album Skull Ring. The band also spent time talking together to work out their differences.
Their 2004 album, American Idiot, became a huge success. It was the band's first album to reach number one on the Billboard charts. The first song from the album, "American Idiot," was also a big hit.
Throughout 2005, the band toured for about 150 days. They visited Japan, Australia, South America, and the UK. In the UK, they played for 130,000 people in just two days! While touring for American Idiot, they filmed and recorded two concerts at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in England. This show was voted 'The Best Show On Earth' by Kerrang! Magazine.
These recordings were released as a live CD and DVD called Bullet in a Bible on November 15, 2005. The DVD showed behind-the-scenes footage of the band getting ready for the show. The final shows of their 2005 world tour were in Sydney, Australia, and Melbourne, Australia. On January 10, 2006, the band won a People's Choice Award for favorite group.
In 2006, Green Day won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams". This song was number one on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks for 16 weeks.
In an interview with Kerrang!, Billie Joe Armstrong said that their new album might be released in 2008. In October 2007, he shared more, saying he had written about 45 new songs on the piano. He wanted the new music to show how he felt as he got older.
In 2009, Kerrang! named American Idiot the best album of the decade. NME ranked it #60 on a similar list, and Rolling Stone ranked it 22nd.
The ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! Albums (2011–2014)
Towards the end of 2011, Green Day played some secret shows under the name Foxboro Hot Tubs. They mostly played new, unheard songs. In February 2012, Green Day went into the studio to record new music. They later announced they would release a series of three albums: ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré!. These albums came out in the fall of 2012. For these albums, their longtime touring guitarist Jason White joined the band in the studio. This was the first time he played guitar on a Green Day album. That summer, Green Day played at several festivals, including Rock en Seine in France and Reading Festival in the UK.
¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! were released on September 21, November 9, and December 7, 2012. Critics generally liked the albums, but fans had mixed feelings. On March 10, 2013, Green Day started their 99 Revolutions Tour to support the new albums. In June, Green Day set a new attendance record at Emirates Stadium by selling 60,000 tickets. During the European part of the tour, including the Reading Festival 2013, the band played their entire Dookie album.
Demolicious was released on April 19, 2014. It's a collection of different versions and demo songs from the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos!, and ¡Tré! recording sessions. It also included a new song called "State of Shock" and an acoustic version of "Stay the Night."
Hall of Fame and Revolution Radio (2014–2018)
Green Day played their first concert in a year on April 16, 2015. They first performed as Sweet Children with John Kiffmeyer, then as Green Day. On April 18, 2015, Green Day was added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Fall Out Boy.
On April 24, 2015, producer Rob Cavallo said Green Day was recording their twelfth studio album. He had heard "five new songs that Billie has written and demoed" and said the music would be "amazing." On December 24, 2015, Green Day released a Christmas song called "Xmas Time of the Year".
On August 11, 2016, Green Day released the first song, "Bang Bang", from their album Revolution Radio. The album came out on October 7, 2016. The band then went on a world tour to support the album. In November 2016, they performed at the American Music Awards. During their song "Bang Bang," they chanted "No Trump, No KKK, No Fascist USA." This was a political statement about the recent US election.
Aaron Burgess from Alternative Press said that Revolution Radio was Green Day's most focused work in years. Gwilym Mumford of The Guardian agreed, saying the band got "back to basics."
The band released their second collection of greatest hits, God's Favorite Band, on November 17, 2017. It has 20 of their hit songs. It also includes two new tracks: a different version of "Ordinary World" with country singer Miranda Lambert, and a song never released before called "Back in the USA."
New Album Saviors (2023–Present)
In November 2022, the band announced they were recording a new studio album. Rob Cavallo produced the album. This was his first time working with the band since ¡Tré! in 2012. Before the album came out, the band played a new song called "1981" at the Festival d'été de Québec on July 16, 2023. On September 30, 2023, Green Day was announced for the halftime show at the 110th Grey Cup. The next day, the band launched a new website called "The American Dream Is Killing Me." The website had a video teasing new music and a date, October 24, 2023. This made news outlets think it was about their next album.
Before the album's release, they played the first song, "The American Dream Is Killing Me", at a live show in Las Vegas, Nevada, on October 19, 2023. They also announced a US tour for summer 2024 with the Smashing Pumpkins, Rancid, and the Linda Lindas. They played another new song, "Look Ma, No Brains!", at the When We Were Young Festival on October 22, 2023.
On October 24, 2023, the new album's title was announced as Saviors. The first song, "The American Dream Is Killing Me," was also released. The full album came out on January 19, 2024.
Band Members
Current members
- Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, guitar (1987–present); harmonica (1997–present); piano (2008–present)
- Mike Dirnt – bass (1988–present); backing and occasional lead vocals (1987–present); guitar (1987–1988)
- Tré Cool – drums, percussion, occasional backing and lead vocals and guitar (1990–present)
Current touring musicians
- Jason White – guitar, backing vocals (1999–present; session member in 2012)
- Jason Freese – keyboards, accordion, saxophone, trombone, backing vocals, occasional acoustic guitar (2004–present)
- Kevin Preston – guitar, backing vocals (2019–present)
Former members
- Raj Punjabi – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1987–1988)
- Sean Hughes – bass (1987–1988)
- John Kiffmeyer – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1988–1990; one-off guest appearance in 2015)
Awards and Nominations
Green Day has been nominated for 214 awards and has won 92 of them.
Discography
Studio albums
- 39/Smooth (1990)
- Kerplunk (1991)
- Dookie (1994)
- Insomniac (1995)
- Nimrod (1997)
- Warning (2000)
- American Idiot (2004)
- 21st Century Breakdown (2009)
- ¡Uno! (2012)
- ¡Dos! (2012)
- ¡Tré! (2012)
- Revolution Radio (2016)
- Father of All ... (2020)
- Saviors (2024)
Images for kids
-
Tré Cool (bottom left) and Mike Dirnt (right) performing on July 27, 2005
-
Green Day performing in New Jersey in 2005
-
Green Day performing during a secret show at the Kesselhaus in Berlin on May 7, 2009
-
Green Day performing "King for a Day", a ska-inspired song featuring saxophones and trumpets
See also
In Spanish: Green Day para niños
