Green Day

Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987. The band consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, and drummer Tre Cool. Cool replaced former drummer John Kiffmeyer in 1990, prior to the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk, and has been a member of the band since. Green Day was originally part of the punk scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band's early releases for the independent record label Lookout! Records earned it a grassroots fanbase. In 1994, its major label debut Dookie became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands Sublime, The Offspring and Rancid, with popularizing and reviving mainstream interest in punk rock in the United States. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod, and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, though they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum and Warning reaching gold status. Its rock opera American Idiot (2004) reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the United States. The band's eighth studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was released in 2009.