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Good Charlotte

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Good Charlotte
File:Good Charlotte.jpg
Background information
OriginWaldorf, Maryland, United States
Years active1996–present
MembersJoel Madden
Benji Madden
Billy Martin
Paul Thomas

Good Charlotte are a Pop Rock band from Waldorf, Maryland that was formed in 1996 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 three 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, born in Waldorf, Maryland. Other members of the band include their friends Billy Martin and Paul Thomas.

Band members

Former members

Temporary

Biography

Good Charlotte's frontmen, identical twins Joel and Benji Madden, were born on March 11, 1979 to a middle class family in Waldorf, Maryland. Their mother raised them with a strict, devout Christian up-bringing. Their father left the family when the twins were 16 years old, causing financial problems for the twins, their mother, older brother, and younger sister. For a short period of time the twins had to work as shampoo boys in a salon. Benji and Joel cite their older brother Josh Madden for introducing them to rock music by bands such as Rancid and Social Distortion. After attending a Beastie Boys concert at the age of 16, Benji and 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" and "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 bands 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.[1]. 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.

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, MXX, 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 note

Famous Facts/Trivia

  • Joel & Benji used to host the MTV show All Things Rock.
  • Four of Good Charlotte's videos, "Lifestyles of the Rich & Famous", "The Anthem", "Girls & Boys", and "Hold On" were retired from MTV's Total Request Live countdown after they stayed on the countdown for 65 days.
  • Mandy Moore appeared in the band's music video "Little Things".
  • NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick, Kyle Gass of Tenacious D, and punk pioneer Mike Watt had cameos in the trial scene of the "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" video. Kirkpatrick is a personal friend of the band.
  • The band was featured in one episode of the MTV animated series Undergrads performing "The Click," which is the theme song for the show.
  • Good Charlotte has a cameo in Not Another Teen Movie as the band playing at the school prom.
  • Some members are PETA activists.
  • Joel and Benji Madden helped write and produce 3 new songs on Hilary Duff's Most Wanted Hits.
  • Good Charlotte's albums were not released in the same order in the UK as the USA. Their first album to be released in the UK was 'The Young & the Hopeless', with their self-titled debut following.
  • Many of Benji and Joel's tattoos reflect their Catholic faith, including images of the Last Supper, the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, and Jesus Christ, carrying a lamb and wearing a crown of thorns, with the inscription "No Greater Love." Joel announced in People magazine that he is planning on getting an angel mural tattoed on his back.
  • Good Charlotte's fourth CD is expected to be in stores in early 2006.
  • One of their songs, "I Just Wanna Live," is featured in Dance Dance Revolution ULTRAMIX 3 on the Xbox.
  • One of Paul Thomas' favorite bands is The Pixies.
  • Ben Lee makes reference to the band in his song "Catch My Disease", with the line "They play Good Charlotte on the radio, and that's the way I like it."
  • Benji has a close relationship with Rancid guitarist Lars Frederiksen. Frederiksen tattooed Benji and made him a mohawk during the 2002 Warped Tour.
  • Benji appears in the video for the Rancid single "Fall Back Down," playing cards with the band and friends like Kelly Osbourne and Skinhead Rob.
  • Benji sings in Mest's video for "Jaded".
  • Avril Lavigne is parodied in the band's music video "Boys and Girls".

Discography

Albums

DVDs

  • Good Charlotte Live at Brixton Academy
  • Good Charlotte - Video Collection

EP Songs

  • "Overcome"
  • "Can't Go On"
  • "The Innocent"
  • "If You Leave"
  • "Footloose"
  • "Superman Can't Walk"
  • "Aaron's Licorice Nightmare"

Singles

From Good Charlotte:

  • "Little Things"
  • "Motivation Proclamation"
  • "Festival Song"

From The Young and the Hopeless:

  • "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" (2002) #20 US, #8 UK (2003 release), #17 Australia (Gold)
  • "Girls and Boys" (2003) #48 US, #6 UK, #33 Australia
  • "The Anthem" (2003) #43 US, #10 UK (US Gold), #14 Australia (Gold)
  • "The Young and the Hopeless"/"Hold On" (2003) #63 US, #34 UK

From The Chronicles of Life and Death:

  • "Predictable" (2004) #12 UK, #15 Australia
  • "I Just Wanna Live" (2005) #51 US, #9 UK (US Platinum), #12 Australia
  • "The Chronicles of Life and Death" (2005) #30 UK, #31 Australia
  • "We Believe" (2005)

See also

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