In , their major-label debut Dookie , released through Reprise Records , became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 20 million copies in the U. Before taking its current name in , the band was named Blood Rage , then Sweet Children. The band's early releases were with the independent record label Lookout! For most of the band's career, they have been a power trio [ 3 ] with Cool, who replaced John Kiffmeyer in before the recording of the band's second studio album, Kerplunk Though the albums Insomniac , Nimrod and Warning did not match the success of Dookie , they were still successful, with Insomniac and Nimrod reaching double platinum status, while Warning achieved gold.
Green Day's seventh album, a rock opera called American Idiot , found popularity with a younger generation, selling six million copies in the U. Their next album, 21st Century Breakdown , was released in and achieved the band's best chart performance. The trilogy did not perform as well as expected commercially, in comparison to their previous albums, largely due to a lack of promotion and Armstrong entering rehab.
They were followed by Revolution Radio , which became their third to debut at No. In , a stage adaptation of American Idiot debuted on Broadway. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in , their first year of eligibility. They have also worked on solo careers. Green Day has sold roughly 75 million records worldwide as of , [ 4 ] making them one of the best-selling music artists. In , friends and guitarists Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt, 15 years old at the time, along with bassist Sean Hughes and drummer Raj Punjabi, a fellow student from Pinole Valley High School , formed band "Blood Rage", the name taken from the eponymous film , and played together in Punjabi's father's house garage at Rodeo, California ; a few months later, the band renamed to Sweet Children.
Armstrong cites the band Operation Ivy which featured Tim Armstrong and Matt Freeman , who would later contact Armstrong to fill in as a possible second guitarist for their band Rancid as a major influence and a group that inspired him to form a band.
In , Larry Livermore , owner of Lookout! Records , saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label. In late , shortly after the band's first nationwide tour, Kiffmeyer left the East Bay area to attend Humboldt State University in Arcata, California.
