The history of Green Day started a long time ago in Rodeo, California when the young friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt (born Michael Ryan Pritchard) formed their first band Sweet Children. Soon the band got its first drummer Al Sobrante who considerably helped the band’s development by booking a lot of shows. In 1989 they released their first EP 1,000 Hours, which brought the band more fans, more gigs and eventually a record deal. They got signed to an independent label Lookout! Records, which released their first 2 albums.
Right before the release of 1,039 Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, their first album, Sweet Children changed their name to Green Day. Soon after the release another change came - Al Sobrante quit the band and was replaced by Tre Cool (born Frank Edwin Wright III) who became Green Day’s permanent drummer. Green Day were becoming more and more popular and soon after the release of their second album Kerplunk! in 1992 their success was so obvious that the band began getting offers from major record labels. Eventually, Green Day decided to sign a contract with Reprise Records after getting impressed by the work of the label’s Rob Cavallo, who became the producer and close friend of the band for many years to come.
In the spring of 1994 Green Day released their major label debut Dookie, which was a huge success. Longview and Welcome to Paradise were Green Day’s first promoted video singles and with the help of MTV Dookie turned into an ultimate hit selling over 5 million copies in US only. It eventually sold 8 million in the US and over 12 million internationally. The singles Basket Case and When I Come Around increased the success of the band and still remain among the most well-known Green Day songs. The 1994 gig in Woodstock showed that Green Day were undoubtedly the most successful and loved band of the year.