Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band. It was formed in the late 1980’s in California by two fourteen year olds Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (born Mike Pritchard) they named it Sweet Children. Their very first show was at the barbeque joint Rod’s Hickory Pit in October 1987 in Vallejo, California.
In 1990, the drummer Al Sobrante joined the group and changed its name to Green Day. The band now includes Billie Joe Armstrong – (vocalist, guitarist) Mike Dirnt – (bassist, backing vocalist). Tre Cool (drummer, percussionist, and backing vocalist) John Kiffmeyer (drummer, percussionist, and backing vocalist) was part of the band till 1990.They originally played Punk rock music but later came into mainstream pop music.
Their debut album was 39/smooth in 1990. Green Day nurtured a large number of cult followers throughout the ’90s. This fan following became stronger after the release of their second album Kerplunk in 1992. It sold over 22 million records in the United States. Their third album Dookie was released in the year 1994.It was a major hit and sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide.
Their next album, Insomniac was released in 1995, followed by Warning in the year 2000. Green day became a favourite among the younger generation with their 2004 album American Idiot. It was the band’s first rock opera. This album sold five million copies in the U.S. They released their latest album 21st Century Breakdown in May 2009.
This album is the band’s second rock opera. Critics positively rated this album. It performed very well at the music charts in many countries. It also topped many charts like the US billboard 200, UK albums chart, and music charts in Canada, Japan, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand and other countries.
In 1996, Green Day declared that they were tired and unexpectedly canceled a European tour. They took a break for the rest of the year during which they wrote new stuff. They came out with Nimrod in late 1997. They released the follow-up album, Warning, three years later. Their current tour is on in Australia.
They have won many awards for their outstanding music. They won three Grammy Awards- Best Alternative Album for Dookie (1994) Best Rock Album for American Idiot, (2004) and Record of the Year for “Boulevard of Broken Dreams” (2006) In the 2001 California Music Awards, Green Day won all eight awards that they were voted for.
They won the awards for Outstanding Album (Warning), Outstanding Punk Rock Album (Warning), Outstanding Group, Outstanding Male Vocalist, Outstanding Bassist, Outstanding Drummer, Outstanding Songwriter and Outstanding Artist. Green Day won 3 Grammy awards in December 2009: 21 Guns for Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals, 21 Guns for Best Rock Song. They won despite the tough competition from artists like Coldplay, U2, Kings of Leon, Eric Clapton & Steve Winwood, pearl jam, Bruce Springsteen and others.
Majority of their songs have overdriven guitar music, fast, frenzied drums, and their bass has a very high treble. Many critics have pointed out that Green day copies the style of the rock band Nirvana. Most of their songs are speedy and less than four minutes, thus making them fast-paced. Their songs are known for their catchy lyrics.
Green day paved the way for American punk metal and neo-punk. Hence it can be said that their influence is far reaching.
- Lovina Raymond
Tags: american rock band, band, green day, music, punk rock, rock band, rock opera
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