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Good Charlotte
Background information
Also known as GC
Origin Waldorf, Maryland, USA
Genre(s) Pop punk
Pop rock
Dance rock
Electro rock
Years active 1996–present
Label(s) Epic, Daylight
Associated
acts Wakefield, The Summer Obsession, The Used
Website http://www.goodcharlotte.com
Members
Joel Madden
Benji Madden
Billy Martin
Paul Thomas
Dean Butterworth
Former members
Aaron Escolopio
Chris Wilson
Good Charlotte is a pop punk band from Waldorf, Maryland that formed in
1996. They took their name from a children's book called Good Charlotte: The
Girls of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York. They have released four
albums in total, most notably 2002's multi-platinum seller The Young and the
Hopeless, which spawned the singles, "Lifestyles of the Rich and the
Famous", "The Anthem", and "Girls and Boys". Their new album, Good Morning
Revival, was released on March 19, 2007 in Europe and on March 27, 2007 in
the United States. The band is fronted by identical twin brothers Joel (lead
vocals and guitar) and Benji Madden (lead guitar and backing vocals). Other
members of the band include Billy Martin (rhythm guitar and keyboards), Paul
Thomas (bass guitar) and Dean Butterworth (drums and percussion).
Albums and history
Good Charlotte
From 1996 to 1999, Good Charlotte garnered popularity by playing at clubs
and small venues. They soon caught the attention of post-grunge band Lit
(whose song "My Own Worst Enemy" was a chart topper at the time). Good
Charlotte filled the opening slot on Lit's east coast tour in 1999. Soon
after, Good Charlotte played some dates with blink-182, who had just
experienced mainstream success with their Enema of the State album. All of
this caught the attention of major music labels, and Good Charlotte
eventually signed with Epic Records in 1999. In 2000, they released their
self titled debut album Good Charlotte. Y100, a now-defunct radio station in
Philadelphia spun Good Charlotte's song "Little Things" before it was
released as a single. It ended up being a big success on the station, so big
that on Y100's nightly "Cage Match" competition (where new songs were pitted
against each other and listeners could vote on which was better), "Little
Things" won fifteen nights in a row, beating out bigger names. "Little
Things" was later released as a single in early 2001, and soon peaked at #23
on the U.S. Modern Rock Tracks chart. In the second half of the year, two
more singles were released from the album, "Motivation Proclamation" and
"Festival Song". "Motivation Proclamation" was the most successful single
released from the album, peaking at #65 on the U.S. Hot 100. On
"Complicated", Joel Madden references an Eric B. & Rakim song ("Came in the
door/I said it before").
The Young and the Hopeless
2002's The Young and the Hopeless marked the band's emergence into
mainstream popularity. Their breakthrough single, titled "Lifestyles of the
Rich and Famous", topped both pop and rock charts around the globe. Singles
that followed from that album include "The Anthem", "Girls and Boys", "Hold
On" and "The Young and The Hopeless".
The album eventually went on to receive a 3x Platinum certification (3
million copies sold) from the RIAA. During the course of the album's
success, Good Charlotte landed appearances on Saturday Night Live, CNN, and
The Today Show, the covers of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press magazines,
and were also featured in The New York Times. They also became popular on
MTV, where their music videos were played in heavy rotation on both MTV and
MTV2. "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" received the "Viewers Choice
Award" at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
In 2003, the band added Chris Wilson, who was introduced to the band from
mutual friends in the band The Used, as a permanent drummer.
The Chronicles of Life and Death
Good Charlotte's third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, was released
in 2004. The album received mixed reactions from both the music press and
Good Charlotte's fanbase. The album has been widely considered a departure
from their previous two albums, mixing new elements such as strings, synths,
and more mature lyrical topics into Good Charlotte's youthful power pop
sound. Singles released from the album include the two hits "Predictable"
and "I Just Wanna Live", as well as "We Believe" and "The Chronicles of Life
and Death". The only single from The Chronicles of Life and Death which
managed to chart upon the U.S. Hot 100 was the hit "I Just Wanna Live".
Every single released from the album went top 30 in the UK, excluding "We
Believe".
In May 2005, after much speculation from fans, it was officially confirmed
that Chris Wilson had left the band citing personal health reasons. Benji
also told Kerrang! magazine that, for him, Chris leaving the band was the
worst part of 2005. Chris now plays drums in the pop rock band The Summer
Obsession.
For Good Charlotte's tour, "Noise to the World Tour" with Simple Plan and
Relient K, the band recruited Dean Butterworth, who had previously played
for Morrissey, as the band's temporary drummer. In March 2007, Butterworth
was confirmed as the band's permanent drummer.
Benji Madden has claimed in interviews that he feels this record was not as
successful as the previous record due to it being "too selfish".
Good Morning Revival
Good Morning Revival is the fourth album by Good Charlotte and the follow up
to 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death. It was officially released in
March 2007, with the precise date varying by country. Good Morning Revival
debuted in the top 10 of thirteen countries worldwide including the U.S.,
giving the band some of their highest international chart positions thus
far. At midnight, on January 23, the forthcoming record was made available
for pre-order on iTunes. When pre-ordered, the single, "The River" is
downloaded immediately, while the rest of the album is queued to be
downloaded on the released date. Pre-ordering on iTunes also provides the
exclusive bonus version of the aforementioned single, and a music video of
an acoustic session of the song, "Misery".
On Good Charlotte's website, Benji Madden posted a video and announced that
the song "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" would be posted on the band's MySpace.
The song premiered on September 22, 2006 online and it is available now to
hear at the band's MySpace page and at the Good Charlotte website. Later, a
video for the song was posted on the band's MySpace page on October 26,
2006. The first single from the album, "The River", featuring Avenged
Sevenfold's lead singer, M. Shadows and guitarist Synyster Gates, appeared
online on January 4, 2007. The music video for "The River" was added to UK
music channels Kerrang! and Scuzz on the 13th of April, 2007, indicating
that it will be the second single released in the UK. A CD and 7" vinyl was
planned to be available to buy for "The River" in the UK on May 21, 2007.
But for reasons unknown, these physical releases for "The River" were never
released. This hurt the chart position of the song. Dispite significant TV
play of the music video in the UK, the song only charted at number 108.
"Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" was released as the first single in the UK and
Australia. There are 2 music videos for this song, the one posted on the
official site in late 2006 and a newer version featuring fans of the band,
are currently doing the rounds on the UK rock music video channels. The
release date for "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" was February 26, 2007, for
download only and March 12, 2007 in stores. "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl"
charted on the UK Singles Chart at 36 the first week of release through
download sales and then climbed to 23 when released in stores. The next
single in North America is reported to be "Dance Floor Anthem". The video
has already been shot and was released on MuchMusic in early May.
The band made multiple U.S. and international TV appearances in support of
the album. First, Good Charlotte appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on Monday, April 9, the Outdoor Stage on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday,
April 11, and on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on Friday, April 27.
Joel and Benji Madden, Good Charlotte's lead singer and guitarist
respectively, co-hosted the Australian MTV Video Music Awards with Fergie on
Sunday, April 29 where the band also won the "Viewers Choice Australia"
award.
In August 2007, the band will embark on Justin Timberlake's FutureSex/LoveShow
tour, as Timberlake's opening act. Good Charlotte will support Timberlake
throughout his second leg North American dates. They will be present for the
August 16, 2007 show in Madison Square Garden, which will be taped for a HBO
broadcast.
Discography
* 2000: Good Charlotte
* 2002: The Young and the Hopeless
* 2004: The Chronicles of Life and Death
* 2007: Good Morning Revival
Band members
* Joel Madden - Lead vocals and Rhythm guitar
* Benji Madden - Lead guitar and backing vocals
* Billy Martin - Rhythm guitar, keyboard, backing vocals
* Paul Thomas - Bass guitar
* Dean Butterworth - Drums
Former members
* Aaron Escolopio (1996-2001) - Drums
* Chris Wilson (2002-2005) - Drums
Temporary members
* Dusty Brill - Played as a drummer with the band after Aaron Escolopio left
the band.
* Cyrus Bolooki - Played as a drummer at some dates with Good Charlotte on
tour.
* Josh Freese - Recorded the The Young and the Hopeless album as a drummer.
* Robin Eckman of Elder Statesmen, Burn the Fields and Zonder - Played as a
drummer on the tour for The Chronicles of Life and Death in Australia,
Europe and Asia.
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