Out of all the post-Nirvana American alternative bands to break into the pop mainstream, Green Day was second only to Pearl Jam in terms of influence. At their core, Green Day were simply punk revivalists, recharging the energy of speedy, catchy three-chord punk-pop songs. Though their music wasn't particularly innovative, they brought the sound of late-'70s punk to a new, younger generation with Dookie, their 1994 major-label debut. Green Day wasn't able to sustain their sucess -- Dookie sold over eight million, while its follow-up Insomniac only sold a quarter of its predecessor -- yet their influence was far-reaching, since they opened the doors for a flood of American neo-punk, punk metal, and third-wave ska-revivalists.Green Day was part of the northern California underground punk scene. Childhood friends Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar, vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass; born Mike Pritchard) formed their first band, Sweet Children, in Rodeo, California when they were 14 years old. By 1989, the group had add drummer Al Sobrante and changed their name to Green Day. That year, the band independently released their first EP, 1, 000 Hours, which was well-received in the California hardcore punk scene. Soon, the group had signed a contract with the local independent label, Lookout, and replaced Sobrante with John Kiftmeyer. 39/Smooth, Green Day's first album, was released later that year. Shortly after its release, the band replaced Kiftmeyer with Tre Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright, III); Tre Cool became the band's permanent drummer.Throughout the early '90s, Green Day continued to cultivate a cult following, which only gained strength with the release of their second album, 1992's Kerplunk. The underground success of Kerplunk led to a wave of interest from major record labels; the band eventually decided to sign with Reprise. Dookie, Green Day's major label debut, was released in the spring of 1994. Thanks to MTV support for the initial single "Longview," Dookie became a major hit. The album continued to gain momentum throughout the summer, with the second single "Basket Case" spending five weeks on the top of the American modern rock charts. At the end of the summer, the band stole the show at Woodstock '94, which helped the sales of Dookie increase. By the time the fourth single "When I Come Around" began its seven-week stay at number one in the modern rock charts in early 1995, Dookie had sold over five million copies in the US alone; it would eventually top eight million in America, selling over ten million copies internationally. Dookie also won the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.Green Day quickly followed Dookie with Insomniac in the fall of 1995; during the summer, they hit number one again on the modern rock charts with "J.A.R.," their contribution to the Angus soundtrack. Insomniac performed well initially, entering the US charts at number two, and selling over two million copies by the spring of 1996, yet none of its singles -- including the radio favorite "Brain Stew/Jaded" -- were as popular as those from Dookie. In the spring of 1996, Green Day abruptly cancelled a European tour, claiming exhaustion. Following the cancellation, the band spent the rest of the year resting and writing new material, issuing Nimrod in late 1997. Their long-awaited follow-up Warning was released three years later. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Warning

01. Warning
02. Blood, Sex And Booze
03. Church On Sunday
04. Fashion Victim
05. Castaway
06. Misery
07. Deadbeat Holiday
08. Hold On
09. Jackass
10. Waiting
11. Minority
12. Macy's Day Parade

Nimrod

01. Nice Guys Finish Last
02. Hitchin' A Ride
03. The Grouch
04. Redundant
05. Scattered
06. All The Time
07. Worry Rock
08. Platypus (I Hate You)
09. Uptight
10. Last Ride In
11. Jinx
12. Haushinka
13. Walking Alone
14. Reject
15. Take Back
16. King For A Day
17. Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life)
18. Prosthetic Head

Insomniac

01. Armatage Shanks
02. Brat
03. Stuck With Me
04. Geek Stink Breath
05. No Pride
06. Bab's Uvula Who?
07. 86
08. Panic Song
09. Stuart and The Ave.
10. Brain Stew
11. Jaded
12. Westbound Sign
13. Tight Wad Hill
14. Walking Contradiction

Dookie

01. Burnout
02. Having A Blast
03. Chump
04. Long View
05. Welcome To Paradise
06. Pulling Teeth
07. Basket Case
08. She
09. Sassafras Roots
10. When I Come Around
11. Coming Clean
12. Emenius Sleepus
13. In The End
14. F.O.D.

Kerplunk

01. 2000 Light Years Away
02. One For The Razorbacks
03. Welcome To Paradise
04. Christy Road
05. Private Ale
06. Dominated Love Slave
07. One Of My Lies
08. 80
09. Android
10. No One Knows
11. Who Wrote Holden Coulfield
12. Words I Might Have Ate
13. Sweet Children
14. Best Thing In Town
15. Strangeland
16. My Generation

1039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours

01. At the Library
02. Don't Leave Me
03. I Was There
04. Disappearing Boy
05. Green Day
06. Going To Pasalacqua
07. 16
08. Road To Acceptance
09. Rest
10. The Judge's Daughter
11. Paper Lanterns
12. Why Do You Want Him?
13. 409 In Your Coffeemaker
14. Knowledge
15. 1,000 Hours
16. Dry Ice
17. Only Of You
18. The One I Want
19. I Want To Be Alone