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Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous
Background:
Pop punk group Good Charlotte, consists of vocalist Joel Madden, guitarist Benji Madden, bassist Paul Thomas, guitarist Billy Martin and drummer Dean Butterworth (joined the band in 2005 after Aaron Escolopio (1996-2001) and Chris Wilson (2002-2005), reached the top of their success with their sophomore effort, the multi-platinum The Young and the Hopeless (2002), which produced the hit singles “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous,” “The Anthem” and “Girls and Boys.” The chart-topping single “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” even brought Good Charlotte a MTV’s Music Video Award. Good Charlotte (2000), their first album, went gold and The Chronicles of Life and Death (2004) received platinum certification.
More recently, in March 2007, the band’s new album, Good Morning Revival, was released, consisting of such songs as “The River,” “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl” and “March On.”
Maryland Boys
Childhood and Family:
Good Charlotte was established in 1996, in Waldorf, Maryland by identical twins Joel and Benji Madden (born on March 11, 1979, in Waldorf, Naptown, Maryland) and their high school friends Paul Thomas (born on October 5, 1980, in Waldorf, Maryland) and Aaron Escolopio (born on March 8, 1980, in Mechanicsville, Maryland), who later left the band in 2001. Billy Martin (born on June 15, 1981, in Naptown, Maryland) was added later. Their band’s name was derived from a children’s book by Carol Beach York, Good Charlotte: The Girls Of Good Day Orphanage.
In 2003, Good Charlotte added Chris Wilson (born on May 5, 1981) as their permanent band, but he disbanded the group in May 2005, mentioning personal health reasons. He is now the drummer of the pop-rock band The Summer Obsession. He was replaced by Dean Butterworth several months later, in August 2005.
Good Morning Revival
Career:
Two years after being founded, the Maryland-based group Good Charlotte experienced early success by playing small venues and clubs. The post grunge band Lit became interested on them and hired the group as an opening act on Lit’s east coast tour in 1999. Before long, Good Charlotte performed with Blink-182, who just enjoyed majority triumph with their Enema of The State album. During that period, a demo tape of Good Charlotte with the song “Little Things” became a darling at the Philadelphia modern rock station Y100. On Y100’s nightly “Cage Match” competition, the track won fifteen nights consecutively that eventually led to a record contract with Epic Records in 1999. A self-titled album followed on September 26, 2000, spawning the charted hits “Little Things,” which reached # 23 on the U.S Modern Rock, and “Motivation Proclamation,” hitting the U.S. Hot 100 on #65. The album eventually went gold.
However, Good Charlotte did not score mainstream success until the release of The Young and the Hopeless on October 1, 2002, which earned a triple-platinum certification from the RIAA. The breakthrough hit “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” was a # 1 hit on both rock and pop charts around the world and later won a Viewers Choice at the 2003 MTV’s Video Music Awards. Other singles released from the album include “Girls and Boys” (#6 on the UK chart), “The Anthem” (# 10 on both the U.S. Modern Rock and the UK Singles Chart), “The Young and the Hopeless” (#28 on .S. Modern Rock) and “Hold On” (#34 on the UK). While enjoying the success, Good Charlotte landed appearances on the covers of Alternative Press and Rolling Stone magazines, and were featured on The New York Times. They also appeared on “Saturday Night Live,” “The Today Show” and CNN.
On October 5, 2004, Good Charlotte released their third album, The Chronicles of Life and Death. Although it sold well, making the Top Ten and earning platinum status, the album failed to keep the impetus of the previous record. The Chronicles of Life and Death earned mixed responses from both the music press and Good Charlotte’s fan base and was widely regarded as a leaving from their preceding two albums. In addition to the two hits: “Predictable” and “I Just Wanna Live,” the album also spawned such tracks as “The Chronicles of Life and Death” and “We Believe.”
Good Morning Revival, Good Charlotte’s latest album, was launched on March 27, 2007. It was produced by Don Gilmore, who also produced the group’s self-titled 2000 debut. The album’s first single, “The River,” is collaborations with heavy metal/hard rock band Avenged Sevenfold members M. Shadows and Synyster Gates. It also consists of tracks like “Keep Your Hands Off My Girl,” “March On,” “Misery,” “Dance Floor Anthem,” “She Takes Your Money” (featuring rapper Fabolous) and “Victims of Love.” Shortly after the album’s release, Good Charlotte plans to start a world tour.
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