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 re-popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.
Billie Joe Armstrong is an American musician and actor. He is best known for being the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Green Day, which he co-founded with Mike Dirnt in 1987. He is also a guitarist and vocalist for the punk rock band Pinhead Gunpowder, and provides lead vocals for Green Day's side projects Foxboro Hot Tubs, the Network, the Longshot and the Coverups. Armstrong has been considered by critics as one of the greatest punk rock guitarists of all time.
Michael Ryan Pritchard, better known by his stage name Mike Dirnt, is an American rock musician who is the co-founder, bassist, backing vocalist, and occasional lead vocalist of Green Day. He has also played in several other bands, including the Frustrators. His stage name Dirnt was originally a nickname that his friends from grade school gave him, as he constantly played "air bass/guitar" and made a "dirnt, dirnt, dirnt" noise while pretending to pluck the strings.
Shenanigans is the second compilation album by American rock band Green Day. It was released on July 2, 2002, by Reprise Records. The album contains B-sides, rarities, covers, and the previously unreleased track "Ha Ha You're Dead". "Espionage", a spy-themed instrumental, was featured on the soundtrack for Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and "Tired of Waiting for You", their cover of the Kinks song of the same name, was featured on the soundtrack for the 1997 film Private Parts.
Slappy is the second EP by American rock band Green Day. It was released in 1990 through Lookout! Records. Upon its release, several different colors of vinyl were available in limited quantities. Frontman and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong cited the extended play as the one on which Green Day began to find its sound. The dog on the cover was known as Mickey. "Slappy" was a nickname given to him by bassist Mike Dirnt's friend Jason Relva. The EP includes one cover, "Knowledge", which was originally by influential California punk band Operation Ivy. All four tracks were later included on the compilation album 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours in 1991.
American Idiot is the seventh studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on September 21, 2004, by Reprise Records. As with their previous four albums, it was produced by Rob Cavallo in collaboration with the group. Recording sessions for American Idiot took place at Studio 880 in Oakland and Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, both in California, between 2003 and 2004. A concept album, dubbed a "punk rock opera" by the band members, American Idiot follows the story of Jesus of Suburbia, a lower-middle-class American adolescent anti-hero. The album expresses the disillusionment and dissent of a generation that came of age in a period shaped by tumultuous events such as 9/11 and the Iraq War. In order to accomplish this, the band used unconventional techniques for themselves, including transitions between connected songs and some long, chaptered, creative compositions presenting the album themes.
"American Idiot" is a protest song by the American rock band Green Day. The first single released from the album American Idiot, the song received positive reviews by critics and was nominated for four 2005 Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal, Best Rock Song, and Best Music Video.
"Longview" is the debut single by American rock band Green Day. It is the fourth track on the band's third studio album, Dookie (1994), released to radio on February 1, 1994. It was physically released on June 6, 1994. The song was the band's first single to top the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the U.S. The music video for the song received heavy airplay on MTV and is largely credited for breaking Green Day into mainstream popularity. It was directed by Bay Area music video director Mark Kohr, who later collaborated with the band on future music videos.
"Minority" is a song by the American rock band Green Day. It was released to radio in August 22, 2000 as the lead single from their sixth studio album, Warning. The song remained at No. 1 for five weeks in a row on the Billboard Modern Rock chart in late 2000, making it one of the most successful songs from the band in the 2000s.
"Jesus of Suburbia" is a song by the American rock band Green Day. It was released as the fifth and final single from the group's seventh studio album, American Idiot, and the second song on the album. With the song running for 9 minutes and 8 seconds, it is Green Day's second longest song and the group's longest song to be released as a single. The studio version of the song was considered unfriendly for radio, so it was cut down to 6½ minutes for the radio edit. The single has sold 205,000 copies as of July 2010. Despite its commercial success, the song is the only hit single from the American Idiot album not to be included on the band's greatest hits album, God's Favorite Band.
21st Century Breakdown is the eighth studio album by the American rock band Green Day, released on May 15, 2009, through Reprise Records. Green Day commenced work on the record in January 2006 and forty-five songs were written by vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong by October 2007, but the band members did not enter studio work until January 2008.
"Know Your Enemy" is a protest song by American rock band Green Day. It is the third track on their eighth album, 21st Century Breakdown, and it was released as the lead single through Reprise Records on April 16, 2009, and the group's first single since "Jesus of Suburbia", released 4 years earlier. Billboard described the song as being lyrically "just as politically charged as last time ", having a "Modern Rock radio-ready chorus", whilst the song's producer Butch Vig "brings enough punk sheen for mass appeal." It was the first, and one of only three songs, to top the Rock Songs, Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock Tracks Billboard charts at the same time. "Know Your Enemy" has been certified Gold by the RIAA and has sold 798,000 copies as of August 2010.
21st Century Breakdown World Tour was a headlining concert tour by American rock band Green Day in support of the group's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, which was released in May 2009.
"21 Guns" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It was released as the second single from their eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown (2009), and serves as the sixteenth track from the album. The single was released through Reprise Records on May 25, 2009 as a digital download and July 14, 2009 as a CD single.
"21st Century Breakdown" is a song by American rock band Green Day from their album of the same name. Billie Joe Armstrong composed the song, which is mainly based on his personal life and musical influences. The song was released as the fourth single from the album on December 21, 2009.
Awesome as Fuck is a live album by American rock band Green Day, released on March 22, 2011, by Reprise Records. The album is composed of tracks recorded during Green Day's 2009–10 21st Century Breakdown World Tour in support of their eighth studio album 21st Century Breakdown (2009). It includes a DVD of a concert recorded at the Saitama Super Arena in Saitama, Japan. It is also available in Blu-ray.
"Oh Love" is a song by American rock band Green Day. It was released as the lead single from their ninth studio album, ¡Uno!, through Reprise Records on July 16, 2012, and is the album's closing track. It is also the first single overall from the ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! & ¡Tré! trilogy. An EP of the song was released on August 14, 2012, the same day Kill the DJ was released as a single. It was recorded at Jingletown Studios from February 14 to June 26, 2012; however, it was also played at a secret show held by the band in 2011.
Demolicious is a compilation album by American rock band Green Day. It was released on Record Store Day on April 19, 2014. It is a collection of demo versions of songs from their ¡Uno! ¡Dos! ¡Tré! album trilogy. The album also includes the previously unreleased "State of Shock" and an acoustic version of "Stay the Night". It was released on double vinyl, CD, and cassette tape. The cover art was designed by comic book artist Tom Neely with Kristina Collantes.
"Bang Bang" is a song by American rock band Green Day, released as the lead single from their twelfth studio album, Revolution Radio (2016), on August 11, 2016. Regarded as combining elements of the band's early punk rock days with themes from their politically motivated later albums, the song was inspired by the events of mass shootings in the United States and is written from the viewpoint of a mass shooter.
Woodstock 1994 is a live album by the American rock band Green Day. The album was released specially through Record Store Day on April 13, 2019, in honor of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock and the 25th anniversary of the now-famous set the band played at Woodstock '94. This was the first live Green Day album to feature the entire setlist. On August 17, 2023, Green Day announced that the album would make a reappearance on vinyl and first time on CD as part of Dookie's 30th anniversary deluxe reissue.
