With 17 Grammy nominations and four wins, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame status, and a legion of fans worldwide, Green Day is one of the most influential rock groups of all time. Bringing their DIY punk aesthetic and attitude to the mainstream with their breakout 1994 album, Dookie, the band gave voice to the angst of a new generation—an angst that was then released in the churn of mosh pits, driving riffs, and snarled, sardonic lyrics. Regardless of record deals or sales, Green Day's spirit of defiance and resistance to conformity has never deviated from their punk-rock roots.
At the group's helm is vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, a magnetic presence who also writes a majority of their lyrics. An icon in his own right, Armstrong has become a hero to many for his integrity and authenticity. In his Words + Music installment, , Armstrong leads listeners through the defining moments of both his personal life and Green Day’s journey with the same soul that makes him a force onstage. Here are five of his most candid revelations.
Some quotes have been lightly edited for readability.
1. The loss of his father inspired one of Armstrong's most iconic songs.
In September of 1982, when Armstrong was in fourth grade, his father died after a brief but devastating battle with esophageal cancer. As Armstrong shares in Welcome to My Panic, his father was a jazz drummer as well as a truck driver. The family home was often alive with the hum of the radio and the sound of music. Armstrong recounts dreading returning to school, fearing he'd be set apart as "that kid with the dead parent,” as if “there was something missing.”
Armstrong discusses childhood after his father's death
<a href=https://www.audible.com/pd/Welcome-to-My-Panic-Audiobook/B0929HF74W>Welcome to My Panic
“When kids were looking at me, it was almost like I had a ghost over my shoulder...It was almost like my life started at zero again.”
The deep and relentless sting of grief is nearly palpable on the 2004 track “Wake Me Up When September Ends,” a song that's largely inspired by Armstrong's loss, the collective trauma of living in the wake of the tragic events of 9/11, and the annual sting of a death anniversary, sorrow renewed and remembered. The lyrics, among the band's most deeply personal, resonate with universal connection: “Here comes the rain again, falling from the stars, drenched in my pain again becoming who we are, as my memory rests but never forgets what I lost.” It's both a touching tribute to his father and an inclusive anthem that nods to our shared struggles.
“That song, I feel, was sort of a new breakthrough for me. I started thinking about how September is just really hard for everybody. The summer's over, a lot of people are going back to school, vacation's over, it's the beginning of the fall, everything is changing, it's getting colder out. And I think that's what that song means to me.”
