Billie Joe Armstrong (guitar,lead vocals) and Mike Dirnt (bass, vocals; born Michael Pritchard), friends since childhood, formed their first band, named Sweet Children, when they were 14 years old in Rodeo, California. In 1989, drummer John Kiftmeyer joined the group, who changed their name to Green Day, named after one of their songs. That year, the band released their first EP independently. The EP, called 1,000 Hours, became well known in the American punk scene and Green Day soon signed to local independent label, Lookout! Records under executive Larry Livermore. Green Day released their debut album, 39/Smooth, that year. Shortly after releasing the album, Kiftmeyer announced that he ws leaving the band to attend college, and persuaded the group to take on his former drum tutor Tre Cool as their new drummer. The group continued to gain underground popularity throughout the early 1990’s, especially after their 1992 release, Kerplunk.
The group signed with Reprise Records, Green Day’s first major label release, Dookie, came out in 1994. The popular single “Longview” propelled the album to mainstream success. The second single, "Basket Case," stayed at #1 for five weeks on the American modern rock charts. The fourth single "When I Come Around" was #1 for seven weeks. The album eventually sold more than eight million copies in the U.S., and won the band the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.
In 1995 the group released Insomniac, which did not garner the success of Dookie. They took some time off and soon released another album, Nimrod, in 1997. Nimrod was well received, selling 80,000 copies in the first week. The second single off the album, “Time of Your Life,” was their most successful single to date. Nimrod only sold about two million copies, making it a commercial flop compared to Green Day’s previous releases.
Green Day went on to release Warning in 2000, the same year they headlined the Vans Warped Tour. In 2004 they released American Idiot, their first album to ever hit #1 on the Billboard charts.
Billie Joe Armstrong – lead vocals, lead & rhythm guitars (1987–present)
Mike Dirnt – bass, backing vocals (1987–present)
Tre' Cool – drums, percussion, backing vocals (1990–present)