Green Day

1987
The band is formed by Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt under the name Sweet Children

OCT [17] The first Sweet Children show took place at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, CA

1988
Armstrong and Dirnt began working with former Isocracy drummer, John Kiffmeyer (also known as Al Sobrante). Kiffmeyer served as both the band's drummer and business manager, handling the booking of shows and helping the band establish a fan base

Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label

The band record their first EP shortly before changing their name to Green Day

1989
APR The 1,000 Hours EP is Green Day's first release

1990
JULY [1] Green Day's debut album, 39/Smooth is released

Green Day would record two EPs later that year: Slappy and Sweet Children

Tré Cool's position as Green Day's drummer became permanent

1991
JULY [1] Lookout! Records released 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, a compilation of the 39/Smooth, Slappy, and 1,000 Hours EPs

MAY to SEP recording their second album at Art of Ears Studio in San Francisco, California

1992
JAN [17] The album Kerplunk is relaesed

Touring

1993
Touring

Kerplunk's underground success led to a wave of interest coming from major record labels, and they eventually left Lookout! on friendly terms and signed with Reprise Records after attracting the attention of producer Rob Cavallo

SEP to OCT Green Day are in the studio recording their major label debut (third album overall)

1994
FEB [1] Green Day release their major label debut, Dookie. The album would eventually peak at US #2, NZ #1 and the lowest peak in any country UK #13. Throughout the 1990s, Dookie continued to sell well, eventually receiving diamond certification in 1999; To date, Dookie has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and remains the band's best-selling album

JUNE [6] Their first major-label single is released, Longview

SEP [9] At a concert at Boston Esplanade, mayhem broke-out during the band's set (cut short to seven songs) and by the end of the rampage, 100 people were injured and 45 arrested

OCT [4] The single Welcome to Paradise is released

AUG [14] The band also joined the lineups of both the Lollapalooza festival and Woodstock 1994, where they started an infamous mud fight. During the concert, a security guard mistook bassist Mike Dirnt for a stage-invading fan and punched out some of his teeth. Viewed by millions via pay-per-view television, the Woodstock 1994 performance further aided Green Day's growing publicity and recognition

NOV [29] The single Basket Case is released

The live albums, Live at Gilman Street and Live Tracks is released

1995
JAN [31] The single When I Come Around is released

MAR [1] Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album

a new single for the Angus soundtrack was released, titled "J.A.R.". number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart

SEP [7] The band is nominated for 9 MTV Video Music Awards including Video of the Year

[25] The first single off the upcoming album is released, Geek Stink Breath

OCT [3] The single Walking Contradction is released

[10] The album Insomniac is released. Though the album did not approach the success of Dookie, it still sold two million copies in the United States

DEC [27] The single Stuck With Me is released

1996
JAN [29] Insomniac won the band award nominations for Favorite Artist, Favorite Hard Rock Artist, and Favorite Alternative Artist at the American Music Awards

After that, the band abruptly cancelled a European tour, citing exhaustion

APR [25] The live album Foot In Mouth is released

JULY [3] The single Brain Stew/Jaded is released

[25] The live album Bowling Bowling Bowling Parking Parking is released

SEP [4] The video for Walking Contradiction is nominated for Best Special Effects In a Video at the MTV Video Music Awards

1997
FEB [26] The video for "Walking Contradiction" got the band a Grammy nomination for Best Short Form Music Video

MAY to JULY Green Day record their next album Nimrod

SEP [22] The first single off the upcoming album is released, Hitchin' A Ride

OCT [14] The album Nimrod is released and peaks at US #10. It has sold over 5 million copies worldwide

NOV [16] The band made a guest appearance in an episode of King of the Hill entitled "The Man Who Shot Cane Skretteberg"

DEC [23] The single, Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) is released

1998
MAY [26] The single Redundant is released

SEP [10] Green Day won their first MTV Video Music Award for Best Alternative Video for "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" and they were also nominated for Viewer's Choice

1999
MAR [23] The single Nice Guys Finish Last is released

2000
OCT [3] The album, Warning is released. While all of Green Day's past albums had reached a status of at least double platinum, Warning was only certified gold

[31] Minority, the first single from the album Warning, is released

DEC [11] The single Warning is released

2001
APR [28] At the California Music Awards, Green Day won all eight awards that they were nominated for. They won the awards for Outstanding Album (Warning), Outstanding Punk Rock/Ska Album (Warning), Outstanding Group, Outstanding Male Vocalist, Outstanding Bassist, Outstanding Drummer, Outstanding Songwriter and Outstanding Artist

OCT [9] The live album Tune In, Tokyo is released

[29] The single Waiting is released

NOV [13] The greatest hits compilation, International Superhits! is released. US #40 and UK #15. International Supervideos! is also released

The single Macy's Day Parade is released

2002
JULY [2] The b-sides compilation album, Shenanigans is released.

2003
In the summer the band went into a studio to write and record new material for a new album, tentatively titled Cigarettes and Valentines. After completing 20 tracks, the master tapes were stolen from the studio. The band chose not to try to re-create the stolen album, but instead started over.

By the end of the year, Green Day collaborated with Iggy Pop on two tracks for his album Skull Ring.

The band underwent serious "band therapy," engaging in several long talks to work out the members' differences after accusations from Dirnt and Cool that Armstrong was "the band's Nazi"[29] and a show-off bent on taking the limelight from the other band members

The video album Riding In Vans With Boys is released

2004
FEB [1] A new song, a cover of "I Fought the Law" made its debut on a commercial for iTunes during NFL Super Bowl XXXVIII

SEP [14] The single American Idiot is released and is the title track off the upcoming album

[21] The hugely successful album, American Idiot is released. It debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, the band's first ever album to top the chart

[21] The single Shoplifter is released exclusively through the iTunes Store

NOV [29] The single Boulevard of Broken Dreams is released

2005
FEB [13] American Idiot won the Grammy for "Best Rock Album"

the band toured in support of the album with about 150 dates — the longest tour in its career — visiting Japan, Australia, South America and the United Kingdom, where they drew a crowd of 130,000 people over a span of two days.

MAY [7] The single Holiday is released

JUNE [13] The single Wake Me Up When September Ends is released. The single became Green Day's second top 10 hit in the states peaking at #6

AUG [1] Green Day announced that that it had rescinded the master rights to its pre-Dookie material from Lookout! Records, citing a continuing breach of contract regarding unpaid royalties, a complaint shared with other Lookout! bands

[28] The band swept the MTV Music Awards, winning a total of seven of the eight awards they were nominated for, including the coveted Viewer's Choice Award

While touring for American Idiot, they filmed and recorded the two concerts at the Milton Keynes National Bowl in England, which was voted 'The Best Show On Earth' in a Kerrang! Magazine Poll.

OCT [25] The single Jesus of Suburbia is released

NOV [15] These recordings were released as a live CD and DVD called Bullet in a Bible

DEC [14] and [17] The final shows of its 2005 world tour were in Sydney, Australia, and Melbourne, Australia.

2006
JAN [10] The band was awarded with a People's Choice Award for favorite group.

Working on new material

FEB [8] Green Day won the Grammy Award for Record of the Year for "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" which spent 16 weeks at the number one position of Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks, a record it shared along with Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Scar Tissue" and Staind's "It's Been Awhile," (the record has been since been beaten by Foo Fighters' 2007 hit "The Pretender" which reigned at the top spot for 18 weeks).

SEP Green Day teamed up with U2 and producer Rick Rubin to record a cover of the song "The Saints Are Coming", originally recorded by The Skids, with an accompanying video. The song is to benefit Music Rising, an organization to help raise money for musicians' instruments lost during Hurricane Katrina, and to bring awareness on the eve of the one year anniversary of the disaster.

OCT [31] The single The Saints Are Coming is released

DEC Green Day and NRDC opened a web site in partnership to raise awareness on America's dependency on oil.

2007
MAY [1] The cover of the John Lennon song Working Class Hero is released on digital download

That summer, the band appeared in a cameo role in The Simpsons Movie, where they perform the show's theme song.

JULY [24] Green Day's cover of "The Simpsons Theme" is released as a single

OCT Armstrong had 45 songs written

2008
FEB [10] The song Working Class Hero is nominated for a Grammy, but loses to The White Stripes' "Icky Thump".

MAY [20] Green Day released a new album under the band name Foxboro Hot Tubs entitled Stop Drop and Roll!!!. The Foxboro Hot Tubs went on a mini-tour to promote the record, hitting tiny Bay Area venues including the Stork Club in Oakland and Toot’s Tavern in Crockett, CA. One song, “Ruby Room,” even gives a shout-out to the Oakland dive bar where “the Pabst Blue Ribbon unravels

OCT A video of the group recording with producer Butch Vig in the studio was posted on YouTube. Two videos showing the band in the studio were posted on YouTube

Green Day released a cover of the John Lennon song "Working Class Hero", that was featured on the album Instant Karma: The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. The band performed the song on the season finale of American Idol.

2009
APR [16] The single, Know Your Enemy, taken from the upcoming album is released

The writing and recording process, spanning three years and four recording studios, was finally finished

Playing in California, their first live shows in almost 3 years

MAY [15] The album 21st Century Breakdown is released worldwide. After the release, the album hit #1 in fourteen different countries, hitting Gold or Platinum in each. 21st Century Breakdown achieved Green Day's best chart performance to date

[25] The song 21 Guns is released as a digital download

JULY {14] The CD single, 21 Guns is released

Green Day start another world tour

SEP [4] 21 Guns Live EP is released

[15] The band adapted their album American Idiot in to a one-act stage musical that premiered at the Berkeley Rep on September 15