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driven the band to achieve worldwide success with the younger generation. Current official members are Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass), and Tre Cool born Frank Edwin Wright III (drums) as well as recent members Jason White (guitar, backup vocals), Jason Freese (keyboard/piano, horns)

In the late 1980s, Billie Joe and Dirnt formed their first band Sweet Children. In 1989, drummer Al Sobrante (born John Kiffmeyer) was added to the group. That same year their name was changed to Green Day and they independently released their EP 1000 hours. The EP proved to be a hit in the underground California punk scene. Lookout Records soon signed Green Day to their label and released their first album 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hour. Shortly following the release, Al Sobrante departed from the band and was replaced by Tre Cool.

The underground success of their second album Kerplunk! in 1992 created a buzz soon detected by major record labels. The band was signed to Reprise Records and began working on their major label debut Dookie. The album was released in 1994 marking the beginning of their fame. Several hits on the album included "Longview", "When I Come Around" and "Basket Case". The event that truly encouraged the Dookie sales was the band's outstanding performance at Woodstock 1994. The album eventually went on to sell over 10 million copies and achieved a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Performance.

The follow up 1995 album, Insomniac, did well selling over two million copies, however not nearly as popular as Dookie. In 1997, nimrod was released and its major hit single was "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" appearing on Seinfeld, ER and was the official 1998 PGA Golf Tour theme. A while later Warning was released in 2000. Although the band experienced a number one hit with the song "Minority", the possible downfall of Green Day was questioned as all previous albums had been certified platinum while Warning only attained gold.

In 2003 Green Day made a huge comeback with the best reviewed album of their career, American Idiot. The album was meant to be a success as the band worked extremely hard, even undergoing therapy to work out some differences. For the making of the so-called "punk rock opera" the musicians experienced creative growth by experimenting with different techniques and instruments. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard album charts, a first for Green Day, with the aid of their hit single "American Idiot". The album also won a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2005.