Good Charlotte

Good Charlotte is a pop punk band from Waldorf, Maryland that was formed in 1997 right after grauation by Joel and Benji Madden. They took the name 'Good Charlotte' from a children's book: Good Charlotte: The Girls Of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York. They have released 3 albums, most notably 2002's multiplatinum seller The Young and the Hopeless, which spawned the chart topping singles, "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous," "The Anthem," and "Girls and Boys." The band's third and most recent album is 2004's The Chronicles of Life and Death. The band is fronted by twin brothers Benji and Joel Madden. Other members of the band include their friends Billy Martin and Paul Thomas.

Band members

Former members

Aaron Escolopio - Drums
Chris Wilson - Drums

Temporary

Dean Butterworth - Drums ('Noise To The World' tour w/ Simple Plan)
Derek Grant -Drums (Chronicles of Life and Death 2005)
Josh Freese - Drums (The Young and the Hopeless album)
Cyrus Bolooki - Drums (Vans Warped Tour 2001)
Dusty Brill - Drums (Vans Warped Tour 2001)

Biography

After attending a Beastie Boys concert at the age of 16, guitarist Benji and singer Joel decided to start their very own band, although Joel had never sung before, and Benji had never played guitar. They started Good Charlotte in 1996 when they recruited childhood friends Paul Thomas (bass) and Aaron Escolopio (drums). They soon moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they were introduced to Billy Martin by a friend.

After releasing an EP, entitled Another EP, in 1999, Good Charlotte released their first self-titled album in 2000, which was not a huge commercial success. Singles that were released from that album include "Little Things", "Motivation Proclamation," and "Festival Song".

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, who had left the band before the recording of their second album, The Young and 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 band's emergence into mainstream music. The single that made them famous, titled "Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous", topped charts around the globe. Singles that followed from that album included "The Anthem" ,"Girls and Boys", "Hold On" and "The Young and The Hopeless". The album received a 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 on MTV, where the Madden Brothers once served as hosts on the late night music video show "All Things Rock." Their music videos were favorites on both MTV and MTV2, with "The Anthem" going on to receive the "Viewers Choice Award" on MTV's 2003 Video Music Awards.

Chris Wilson was the band's drummer for their third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death, which was released in 2004. The singles released from that album include "Predictable", "I Just Wanna Live", "We Believe" and "The Chronicles of Life and Death". This album was considered a departure from their previous 2 albums. In May 2005, Chris left the band for personal health reasons.^*. Benji also told Kerrang! magazine that Chris leaving the band was the worst part of 2005 for him.

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.

NME reported on 14th July 2006 (http://www.nme.com/news/good-charlotte/23599) that the 4th Good Charlotte album is expected in October 2006. The CD will be produced by Don Gilmore who worked on the self-titled record. The reason given is to go back for the fans, "old school" style.

Style

Good Charlotte's hair and clothing styles are mostly derived from a variety of punk bands from the 80s and 90s. Some of these bands include: Agnostic Front, The Cure, MxPx, The Casualties, The Exploited, Rancid, Sex Pistols, Minor Threat, Social Distortion, NOFX, H2O, Anti-Flag, and Blink-182. Several of these bands are credited in Good Charlotte's early album notes.

Albums

Album Cover	Date of Release	Title	Label	UK Album Chart Position	UK sales	US Album Chart Position (Billboard Top 200)	US sales
26th Septemeber 2000	Good Charlotte	Sony Records			185
1st October 2002	The Young and the Hopeless	Epic Records	15		7	3 x platinum (Feb 2004)
5th October 2004	The Chronicles of Life and Death	Epic Records / Daylight Records	8		3	1 x platinum
	October 2006	Album 4	Epic Records

Singles

Year	Title	Chart Positions				Album
Year	Title	US Hot 100	US Modern Rock	Pop 100	UK Singles Chart	Album
2001	Little Things	-	23	-	-	Good Charlotte
2001	Motivation Proclamation	-	-	-	-	Good Charlotte
2001	Festival Song	-	-	-	-	Good Charlotte
2003	Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous	20	11	-	8	The Young and the Hopeless
2003	Girls And Boys	48	-	-	6	The Young and the Hopeless
2003	The Anthem	43	10	-	10	The Young and the Hopeless
2003	''The Young And The Hopeless	-	28	-	34	The Young and the Hopeless
2003	''Hold On	63	-	-	-	The Young and the Hopeless
2004	Predictable	-	28	-	12	The Chronicles of Life and Death
2005	I Just Wanna Live	51	-	-	9	The Chronicles of Life and Death
2005	The Chronicles Of Life And Death	-	-	-	30	The Chronicles of Life and Death
2005	We Believe	-	-	-	-	The Chronicles of Life and Death

External links

2000s music groups | American pop music groups | Maryland musical groups

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