Green Day

Hails From: Northern California

Bio: Punk rockers Green Day rode their catchy three-chord songs from underground obscurity to Grammy fame, selling more than 8 million albums with their major-label debut, "Dookie," in 1994. Although the band couldn't sustain that white-hot level of success, their influence among post-punk bands has been pervasive and lasting. Nearly a decade after their initial breakthrough, the band soared to even greater heights with the CD "American Idiot."

Discography
"Bullet in a Bible" (2005)
"American Idiot" (2004)
"Shenanigans" (2002)
"International Superhits!" (2001)
"Warning" (2000)
"Nimrod" (1997)
"Insomniac" (1995)
"Dookie" (1994)
"Kerplunk!" (1992)
"1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" (1991)

Notable: Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the band's first song, "Why Do You Want Him?" when he was 14 years old. The song appears on the "1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours" album.

Grammys: Best rock album, "American Idiot" (2004); best alternative music performance, "Dookie" (1994)