Green Day

Green Day are one of the most popular American rock bands of the last two decades, having sold over 60 million records worldwide.

It all started in 1989 when their first EP 1,000 Hours was released on the independent label Lookout! Records, with original drummer John Kiffmeyer (aka Al Sobrante). The album 39/Smooth followed in 1990. Two further EPs followed but Al Sobrante left, leaving Cool to pick up the sticks for their second album Kerplunk in 1992. Major label interest was generated by the success of Kerplunk and finally they signed with Reprise Records.

Their first album with Reprise was Dookie, and it achieved immediate award-winning success when it was released in 1994. With Dookie, Green Day were credited with reviving the punk genre in America, though then, as now, they attracted criticism that they were not real punk. Their second major-label album was Insomniac, released in 1995. It was not quite as successful commercially as Dookie but was well received by the critics and still sold well.

Their third album Nimrod was released in 1997, after the band had taken a short break. Its style was somewhat different from their previous efforts; they moved into more experimental territory, diluting the pop-punk, for which they had become famous, with elements of ska and balladry, most notably on the successful single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". They released Warning in 2000, developing the style of their previous album. It was met with reserved praise from their aging fanbase, who were concerned that the band was failing to live up to its punk roots. Nonetheless, it still gathered plaudits by the handful.

2003 started disastrously when master tapes for their new album Cigarettes and Valentines were stolen, but rather than try to re-create this album, they started again, recording American Idiot. It was a tour de force, a "punk rock opera" about the "Jesus of Suburbia" and it proved to be their most successful record yet, earning them many awards.