In 1991, Lookout! Records released 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours, a compilation of the 39/Smooth, Slappy, and 1,000 Hours EPs. Green Day would record two EPs later that year: Slappy and Sweet Children, the latter of which included some older songs they had recorded for Minneapolis indie label Skene! Records. Lookout! would release Green Day's first LP, 39/Smooth in early 1990. The band adopted the name Green Day, allegedly due to their fondness of marijuana. Before 1,000 Hours was released, the band dropped the name Sweet Children, according to Livermore this was done in order to avoid confusion with another local band, Sweet Baby. In 1989 they recorded their first EP, 1,000 Hours. Larry Livermore, owner of Lookout! Records, saw the band play an early show and signed them to his label. The first Sweet Children show took place on October 17, 1987, at Rod's Hickory Pit in Vallejo, California where Armstrong's mother was working. In 1987, 14 year old friends Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt formed a band called Sweet Children. 7 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Revolution Radio.4 American Idiot and renewed popularity (2003–present).1 Formation and Lookout years (1987–93).The band has sold over 85 million records worldwide, They also have four Grammy Awards, Best Alternative Album for Dookie, Best Rock Album for American Idiot and 21st Century Breakdown, and Record of the Year for " Boulevard of Broken Dreams". The next rock opera was 21st Century Breakdown released in 2009. Green Day's 2004 rock opera American Idiot reignited the band's popularity with a younger generation, selling five million copies in the U.S. Green Day's three follow-up albums, Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning did not achieve the massive success of Dookie, but they were still successful, reaching double platinum, double platinum, and gold status respectively. As a result, Green Day was widely credited, alongside fellow California punk bands The Offspring and Rancid, with reviving mainstream interest in and popularizing punk rock in the United States. alone, and 15 million copies sold worldwide. Nevertheless, its major label debut Dookie (1994) became a breakout success and eventually sold over 10 million copies in the U.S. Its early releases for independent record label Lookout! Records earned them a grassroots fanbase, some of whom felt alienated when the band signed to a major label. Green Day was originally part of the punk rock scene at 924 Gilman Street in Berkeley, California. The band has consisted of Billie Joe Armstrong (lead vocals, guitar), Mike Dirnt (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Tré Cool (drums, backing vocals) for the majority of the band's existence. Green Day is an American punk rock band formed in 1987.