Green Day’s 1994 breakthrough album was Dookie. Released on February 1, 1994, it transformed the band from a respected East Bay punk act into an international rock success.
Dookie was Green Day’s third studio album but its first for a major label, Reprise Records. Producer Rob Cavallo helped the band preserve its fast, irreverent punk character while giving the recordings a polished sound that worked on radio and television.
The album’s success was driven by songs including “Longview,” “Basket Case,” “Welcome to Paradise,” and “When I Come Around.” It eventually sold more than 10 million copies in the United States and became one of the defining punk-rock albums of the 1990s.
The most common confusion is with Kerplunk, Green Day’s 1991 independent album, which established the band in the underground scene. Dookie was the release that broke them into the mainstream and helped popularize punk-influenced rock worldwide.