Green Day: The rise of the punky Kids

It's been more than 30 years since rock music was still important and had great relevance. Artists were not pop bunnies who sang with computer voices, but stars with guitars, poets, explainers of the world.

We look back in a series. Today it's time for Green Days classical tune "Dookie".

Beautiful pop songs, simply played a number faster: What has been successful for years with Stiff Little Fingers and Bad Religion can't go wrong with Green Day either. "Dookie" brings together hurried guitars, measured staccato vocals and south-curving choruses in a dozen uncomplicated, knock-out anthems.

Take one part Ramones, one part Buzzcocks and one part Hüsker Dü and you have the basic foundations of Green Day, a punky, fun, melodic trio from the San Francisco Bay Area. They became stars overnight when this 1994 album, their third ever and the first to be released under a better-known label, catapulted them to the top of the pop charts. Good party food.

Led by guitarist and singer Billie Joe Armstrong and their secret weapon, energetic drummer Tre Cool, Green Day distilled '70s and '80s punk into a compact '90s package with songs like "Longview," "Basket Case," "Pulling Teeth" and the hit ballad "When I Come Around". One of the few modern alternative rock groups with a real sense of humor.

It was still surprising that the third studio album by the American punk rock band Green Day and their first on a major label would launch a global career. But when the album was released 30 years ago, it quickly became a hit. With over 20 million copies sold, it is one of the world's best-selling music albums.

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