Story Of Good Charlotte



Identical twins Joel and Benji were two Maryland teenagers with an avid interest in baseball. They hit a home run on the music field after attending a Beastie Boys concert in 1995. They were just 16. As the ska/punk band, Good Charlotte, they have been batting a thousand ever since they formed in 1996.

Even though the boys were not musical, that concert prompted them to dig an old guitar out of a closet and make plans to form a band. Their friend, Paul, taught Benji the basics. Paul became the band's bass player, and another friend, Aaron, ditched the football squad to become the band's drummer. While still in high school, the four formed Good Charlotte, a band dedicated to the punk sound so popular in the late 1970s. When the band started rehearsing, lead guitarist Benji had mastered only three chords, but he was a quick learner.

After high school, the quartet headed to the Annapolis, Maryland, music scene. They took menial jobs on the side, serving as waiters, shampoo boys, and grocery stock boys. They played their music, which is a cross between Clash, Cure, Green Day, and Beastie Boys, anywhere and everywhere. They hooked up with another guitarist, Billy, who completed Good Charlotte.

The band got several gigs opening for big name bands like Blink 182, Bad Religion, and Lit. Good Charlotte played the local stage at radio station WHFS's big HFSFestival. In 2000, the group made the move up to the second stage, playing alongside Eve 6 and Nine Days. The band's demo record of "The Little Things" broke radio station WPLY (Philadelphia) records for dueling songs with 15 straight wins. Good Charlotte captured the attention of major labels and ultimately signed with Epic.

With the assistance of producer Don Gilmore, who previously shepherded Lit and Eve 6, the band recorded its self-titled debut, released by Sony in 2000. The album ranges from powerful modern rock to heartfelt ballads and includes the autobiographical "The Little Things."

In 2001, the group toured as part of the Vans Warped Tour. Good Charlotte's follow-up, The Young and the Hopeless, appeared in 2002, and debuted in the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 album chart. The group was once again part of the Warped Tour and in 2004 released The Chronicles of Life & Death. The album was released in two slightly different versions; a "Life" version and a "Death" version each with a different bonus track. The album debuted in the Top 5 on The Billboard 200.

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