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Good Charlotte

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

Good Charlotte is a pop punk revival band from Waldorf, Maryland that was formed in 1996. They took the name 'Good Charlotte' from a children's book: Good Charlotte: The Girls Of Good Day Orphanage by Carol Beach York. The band claims there was no significance to the name Good Charlotte, and they have claimed on many ocassions that they now hate the name. 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

Temporary

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). Paul taught Benji some chords on guitar, and they instantly began writing songs. They soon moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they were introduced to Billy Martin by a friend. After Martin joined, they released an EP titled "Another EP" in 99.

Eventually, Good Charlotte garnered alot of popularity by playing clubs and small venues and caught the attention of pop-punkers 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 a huge mainstream success with Enema of The State. The band's demo started getting passed around and eventually ended up in the hands of now defunt modern rock radio station Y100. Y100 spun Good Charlotte's song "Little Things", and it ended up being a big success on the station. So big that, on Y100's nightly "Cage Match" competition (where new songs where pitted against each other and listeners could vote on which was better), "Little Things" won 7 nights in a row (beating out big names such as Limp Bizkit in the process) and had to eventually be retired. All of this caught the attention of major labels, which ended up in Good Charlotte signing to Epic Records in 1999.

Good Charlotte released their first self-titled album in 2000, which was not a huge commercial success, but did garner slight play on modern rock radio, and was especially big on the band's hometown rock station WHFS. 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.[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.

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.

Albums

Album Cover Date of Release Title Label UK Album Chart Position UK sales US Album Chart Position (Billboard Top 200) US sales
File:Good Charlotte self titled.jpg
 26th September 2000 Good Charlotte Sony Records 185
File:Good Charlotte The Young and the Hopeless.jpg
 1st October 2002 The Young and the Hopeless Epic Records 15 7 3 x platinum (Feb 2004)
File:Chronicles of life and death platinum.JPG
 23 August 2005 The Chronicles of Life and Death [Platinum Edition] Epic Records / Daylight Records 8 3 2 x platinum
October 2006 Album 4 Epic Records

Singles

Year Title Chart Positions Album
US Hot 100 US Modern Rock Pop 100 UK Singles Chart
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 - - 34 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
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