TimesTalks - Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day

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Billie Joe Armstrong, the guitarist and vocalist for Green Day, was born the youngest of six children in a working-class family in Rodeo, CA. His father was a jazz musician and a truck driver, and his mother was a waitress and a die-hard country music fan. Mr. Armstrong and his childhood friend Mike Dirnt formed their first band, Sweet Children, when they were 14 years old. In 1989, the group changed its name to Green Day. That year, the band independently released its first EP, 1,000 Hours, which was well received on the punk scene. Soon, the group signed with a local independent label, and 39/Smooth, Green Day's first album, was released later that year. Shortly after, Tre Cool became the band's permanent drummer. Throughout the early 90s, Green Day continued to cultivate a cult following, which gained strength with the release of the band's second album, 1992's Kerplunk. Dookie, Green Day's major label debut, was released in 1994. The album became a major hit, eventually selling more than 11 million copies internationally and winning the 1994 Grammy for Best Alternative Music Performance.

Green Day followed Dookie with Insomniac, Nimrod, Warning, Shenanigans, and American Idiot. In December 2004, American Idiot was nominated for seven Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year, Album of the Year, Best Rock Song, and Best Short Form Music Video. Mr. Armstrong is also the co-founder and partial owner of the independent label Adeline Records.

Jon Pareles, chief popular music critic of The New York Times, joined The Times in 1982. Previously, he worked at Crawdaddy, Rolling Stone, and the Village Voice. He began playing the piano at age six and the flute two years later, majored in music at Yale, and wrote music criticism for the Yale Daily News. He is the co-editor of The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll.

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