Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene in East Bay, Californa. Its early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned them a grassroots fan base. Its major label debut, Dookie (1994), became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. and 15 million worldwide. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. Green Day’s three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning also reached double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively. Green Day’s 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band’s popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S.. In May of 2009, 21st Century Breakdown was released, picking up where American Idiot left off, as another ambitious punk rock opera. The album was a commercial success. In 2009, American Idiot was adapted for the stage, and the following year, Green Day lent their talents to the original cast recording, combining a driving score with Broadway vocal arrangements. The band released three albums in 2012. Green Day has won three Grammy Awards; Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot, and Record of the Year for Boulevard of Broken Dreams. Green Day is an awesome band to see live, awesome!
