Good Charlotte is an American pop punk band from
Waldorf, Maryland that formed in 1996. They took their name from the children's book called
"Good Charlotte: The Girls of Good Day Orphanage," written by
Carol Beach York.
History
Early years & self-titled album (1995–2001)
Good Charlotte started out by playing at small bars. They soon caught the attention of
pop punk band,
Lit, whose song "
My Own Worst Enemy" was a chart topper at the time. Good Charlotte lost the opening slot on Lit's East Coast tour in 1999. Soon after, Good Charlotte played some dates with the band
Blink-182, who had just experienced mainstream success with their album,
Enema of the State. 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, before it was retired to the cage match hall of fame.
Good Charlotte also gained a lot of momentum and popularity from "Little Things" being played by now defunct Washington radio station,
99.1 WHFS. WHFS's annual music concert, the
HFStival, hosted a locals only stage and is credited with being Good Charlotte's big break.
"Little Things" was later released as a single in 2001, and peaked at #23 on the U.S.
Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart
[Good Charlotte Billboard Chart History]. In the second half of the year, three more singles were released from the album, "
The Motivation Proclamation", "
The Click" and "
Festival Song", which is an ode to HFStival.
The Young and the Hopeless (2002–2003)
2002's
The Young and the Hopeless well marked the band's music into mainstream popularity. Their breakthrough single, titled "
Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous", topped both pop and rock charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that album include "
The Anthem", "
Girls & Boys", "
The Young and the Hopeless" and "
Hold On". They thanked many other bands for their influences for this album, including
Blink 182,
Sum 41,
NOFX, Social Distortion and
Green Day.
The album eventually went on to receive triple platinum certification (three million copies sold) from the
RIAA[RIAA Certification Database]. 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 & Famous" received the "Viewers Choice Award" at the
2003 MTV Video Music Awards.
The band hired temporary drummers during the recording, release and touring of
The Young and the Hopeless due to former drummer,
Aaron Escolopio, having left the band before its release to join his brother's group,
Wakefield. In 2003, the band added
Chris Wilson as a drummer, he was introduced to the band through mutual friends from the group
The Used.
Also in 2003, the band made a cameo appearance in the
King Gordy video for "Nightmares".
Chronicles of Life and Death (2004–2006)
Good Charlotte's third album,
The Chronicles of Life and Death, was released by Blake face in 2004. The album received mixed reactions from both the music press and Good Charlotte's fan base. The album has been widely considered a departure from their previous two albums, mixing new elements such as lyrical topics into Good Charlotte's youthful sound. Singles released from the album include the two hits "
Predictable" and "
I Just Wanna Live", as well as "
The Chronicles of Life and Death" and "
We Believe". 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". All of the singles released from the album went top 30 in the UK, except for "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 then joined a pop/rock band
The Summer Obsession but because of its split in 2007, he currently plays drums in
Allegiance To The Fire.
On Good Charlotte's "Noise to the World Tour", performing with
Simple Plan and
Relient K, the band recruited
Dean Butterworth (who had previously played for
Morrissey) as the band's temporary drummer. Later, 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 (2007–2008)
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, 2007, the forthcoming record was made available for pre-order on
iTunes. When pre-ordered, the single, "
The River" was downloaded immediately, while the rest of the album was queued to be downloaded on the released date. Pre-ordering on iTunes also provided the exclusive bonus acoustic version of the aforementioned single.
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 and was released as the first single from the album in North America. The music video for "The River" was added to UK music channels
Kerrang! and
Scuzz on April 13, 2007, making it the second single released from the album in the UK. The song charted at #108. "Keep Your Hands off My Girl" was released as the first single in the UK and Australia. "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 second single released in North America was "
Dance Floor Anthem", with which the band had scored a surprise hit, making it onto eleven different Billboard charts and peaking at #2 in Australia. The "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl" video was recently certified gold by
MTV International. It was played 3,000 times on over 4 continents during the first half of 2007. On January 1, 2008, Good Charlotte was featured on Tila Tequila's New Years Eve Masquerade on MTV, as they were the second performance of the new year and performed their hit "Dance Floor Anthem".
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 April 9, 2007, the Outdoor Stage on
Jimmy Kimmel Live on April 11, and on
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson on 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 April 29, 2007 where the band also won the "Viewers Choice Australia" award for "Keep Your Hands Off My Girl". In August 2007, the band embarked on
Justin Timberlake's
FutureSex/LoveShow tour, as Timberlake's opening act. Good Charlotte supported Timberlake throughout his second leg North American dates. They were present for the August 16, 2007 show in
Madison Square Garden, which was taped for a HBO broadcast.
In 2008, Good Charlotte appeared on the Three 6 Mafia track off of their new CD
Last 2 Walk called "My Own Way".
On November 25, 2008, "
Greatest Remixes" was released. This compilation album includes 15 songs from previous Good Charlotte albums remixed by other artists such as
Metro Station,
Junior Sanchez,
The Academy Is...,
Patrick Stump from
Fall Out Boy, and
The White Tie Affair feat. Mat Devine of
Kill Hannah.
Cardiology (2009–present)
Good Charlotte is currently in the studio recording their fifth studio album. Describing the sound to MTV news,
Joel Madden said it would sound a lot like
Blink-182.
[MTV News][Goodcharlotte.com] Joel Madden went on to say in the same MTV interview that "There's nothing dance-y on the record, though, at all, which is different from our last one,"
[18/Nov/2008 Good Charlotte Fill Blink-182's Void On Next LP, Tide Fans Over With Remix Album MTV.com] further implying a movement away from the sound of
Good Morning Revival.
On December 3
Kerrang! magazine announced that Good Charlotte would be releasing their fifth studio album,
Cardiology in 2009. The title of which, according to Joel, comes from the lyrical content of the album, which he explained is "all connected to the heart". Madden also added that they have already written 20 songs for the new album, and are said to be heading back to their pop-punk roots.
The album is being produced by
Howard Benson, who is known for such albums as My Chemical Romance's "
Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge", and The All-American Rejects "
Move Along".
The band has been frequently
tweeting while at the studio. Late July 2009, Joel Madden has mentioned that they are close to track listing the album. On August 9 2009, Benji Madden mentioned on his twitter that they have yet to record the songs but they are written.
On the 25th August Benji Madden announced on the official Good Charlotte website that the band were in the final stages of tracking and recording the album. He also gave fans a single line from one of the new songs:
"She liked me better when I was different, No one knew me then, back in Maryland"[Welcome to the Studio!]
Benji Madden also said on his twitter account on August 26 that they are shooting for a March/April release date. "We are shooting for march/april guys. sorry for the wait but we wanna do this one right. Don't worry, you will get some music before then".
On 8th November, whilst appearing on Rove the twins stated that they have finished recording the album and as soon as any music is radio worthy it will be released.
Activism
Billy Martin is an active vegetarian. Twins, Benji and Joel Madden were reported to be vegetarian, but nothing has ever been definite about these claims. Benji Madden won PETA's vegetarian of the year. In the past they actively supported
PETA's
animal rights campaigns. Members of the group recorded a track, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", on PETA's Liberation CD and appeared at PETA's 25th Anniversary Gala and Humanitarian Awards Show.
[PETA's 25th Anniversary Gala and Humanitarian Awards Show] Group members have also demonstrated against
KFC's treatment of chickens. PETA and the band went their separate ways when news emerged that the band's partners are pro-fur.
The twins have also posed for the YouthAIDS
Aldo "Aldo Fights AIDS" dog tag campaign. They stand side by side, eyes shut, on the "See No Evil?" dog-tag packaging. Joel holds his hands in prayer, whereas Benji's face is contorted and angry and his hand is in a fist.
Band members
Former members
Touring & Session members
Discography
Awards and nominations
Good Charlotte's songs and albums have received recognition at the
MTV Australia Awards, the
MTV Europe Music Awards, and the
MTV Video Music Awards. "
The Anthem" is the second single from the band's second album
The Young and the Hopeless. The song was awarded the "Best Rock Video" award from the
MTV Video Music Awards Japan and the "Peoples Choice: Favorite International Group" award from the
MuchMusic Video Awards. The band itself has received awards including "Fave International Band" at the
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards, "Best International Group" at the
NRJ Music Awards, and "Best International Rock Act" at the
TMF Awards. As of July 2008, Good Charlotte has received eight awards from twenty nominations.
- Kerrang! Awards
The
Kerrang! Awards is an annual awards ceremony held by
Kerrang!, a British
rock magazine.
awards table
| 2003 | "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" | Best Single | won
|
| Good Charlotte | Best International Band | nom
|
| 2005 | "The Chronicles of Life and Death" | Best Video | nom
end
- MTV Australia Awards
The MTV Australia Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 2005 by MTV Australia.
awards table
|
| 2007 | "Keep Your Hands off My Girl" | Viewers Choice Australia | won
|
| Best Group | nom
|
| Best Rock Video | nom
end
- MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony established in 1994 by MTV Europe.
awards table
|
| 2003 | Good Charlotte | Best Rock | nom
|
| Good Charlotte | Best New Act | nom
|
| 2004 | Good Charlotte | Best Rock | nom
|
| 2007 | Good Charlotte | Best Band | nom
end
- MTV Video Music Awards
The MTV Video Music Awards were established in 1984 by MTV to celebrate the top music videos of the year.
awards table
|
| 2003 | "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" | Viewer's Choice | won
|
| Best Rock Video | nom
|
| Best Group Video | nom
|
| 2004 | "Hold On" | Best Group Video | nom
|
| Viewer's Choice | nom
end
- MTV Video Music Awards Japan
The MTV Video Music Awards Japan was established in 2002 and is presented by MTV Japan.
awards table
|
| 2004 | "The Anthem" | Best Rock Video | won
end
- MuchMusic Video Awards
The MuchMusic Video Awards is an annual awards ceremony presented by the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic.
awards table
|
| 2003 | "The Anthem" | People's Choice: Favorite International Group | won
end
- Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards
The Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards is an annual awards show which comments entertainers and is voted by children aged 12 to 19.
awards table
|
| 2007 | Good Charlotte | Fave International Band | won
end
- NRJ Music Awards
The NRJ Music Awards is an annual French awards ceremony created by the NRJ radio station and the TF1 television network.
awards table
|
| 2004 | Good Charlotte | Best International Group | won
end
- TMF Awards
The TMF Awards is an annual television awards show broadcast live on The Music Factory.
awards table
|
| 2005 | Good Charlotte | Best International Rock Act | won
end
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