Good Charlotte Biography
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Wikipedia.org
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Free Encyclopedia.”
Good Charlotte is a
pop-rock/pop-punk band formed in 1996. They have had many singles, some of their
more popular songs being "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", "The Anthem," and
"Girls and Boys". They took their band name from a children's book, written by
Carol Beach York. Their most recent hits have been "Predictable", "I Just Wanna
Live", and "We Believe" on their new album, The Chronicles of Life and Death.
The band is fronted by twin brothers Benji and Joel Madden, born in Waldorf,
Maryland. Despite personally claiming to be a punk band, many critics deride the
band for its pop-oriented sound and the band's following which mostly consists
of teenage females. Thus the band is often categorized as pop punk or pop-rock.
Many other punk fans frown on them as well.
* * * *
Band members
Joel Madden: Vocals and occassional
3rd Guitar
Benji Madden: 2nd Guitar and backup
vocals
Billy Martin: Lead Guitar and
Keyboards
Paul Thomas: Bass
Aaron Escolopio: Drums (1996-2001)-
left to join Wakefield
Dusty Brill: Drums (2001-2002)-
temporary
Chris Wilson: Drums (2002-2005)-
left due to medical conditions
Dean Butterworth: Drums (since May
2005) - temporary; current drummer
Biography
Frontmen Joel and Benji Madden grew
up in the town of Waldorf, Maryland in a lower middle-class family. They were
born in 1979, on March 11. At a young age their father left them, and they had a
hard time with only their mother to earn money for the family. One day they had
an idea, and (although Joel had never sung before, and Benji had never played
guitar before)they started the band in 1996 where they recruited childhood
friends Paul Thomas (bass) and Aaron Escolopio (drums). They soon moved to
Annapolis and met Billy Martin, through a mutual interest in the band
Silverchair.
"Ours was definitely a
dysfunctional family situation," admits Benji Madden, "but luckily me and Joel
always had each other. When things started to fall apart, we just got into
music." The twins' older brother Josh turned them on to influential albums by
Rancid, Minor Threat, the Cure, the Smiths, and many more.
After releasing an EP, entitled
Another EP, in 1999, Good Charlotte released their first self-titled album,
which was not a huge commercial success. Singles that were released from that
album include "Little Things" and "Motivation Proclamation".
Aaron was the drummer in their
debut album, Good Charlotte, before leaving the band in early 2001 to join the
band Wakefield with his brother, Ryan. He was replaced with Dusty, who was just
a temporary drummer and had left the band before the recording of their second
album, The Young & the Hopeless. As a result, veteran professional studio
drummer Josh Freese plays for that album.
2002's The Young And The Hopeless
was much more popular, and marked the bands emergence into mainstream music.
Their single that made them famous, titled "Lifestyles of the Rich and the
Famous" topped charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that abum
included "The Anthem" and "Girls and Boys". The Young and the Hopeless received
3x-platinum certification from the RIAA, landing the band on Saturday Night
Live, the covers of Rolling Stone and Alternative Press, a two page feature in
the New York Times and spots on CNN and The Today Show. Good Charlotte were also
hugely popular at MTV, where the Madden Brothers once served as hosts All Things
Rock. Their video clips were chart-topping favorites on both MTV and MTV2, with
"The Anthem" going on to receive 2003's MTV "Viewers Choice" Video Music Award.
Also, in 2004, frontmen Benji and Joel Madden were on Punk'd after they were
both tricked by Ashton Kutcher for this incident which they saw their Range
Rover crashed on top of Volvo while being towed.
Chris Wilson was the band's drummer
for their third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, which was released in
2004. Singles currently released from that album include "Predictable", "I Just
Wanna Live" and "We Believe". This album was considered a departure from their
previous 2 albums. In May 2005, Chris left for personal health reasons.
Today, through non-stop touring and
wide publicity, Good Charlotte has built a huge fanbase from all four corners of
the globe.
Their most recent "Noise to the
World Tour" with Simple Plan featured Dean Butterworth, who has previously
played with Morrissey, as the band's current temporary drummer.
* * * *
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URL of Original Article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Charlotte
Date Article Copied:
July 11, 2005
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