Dookie is the third studio album by American punk rock band Green Day. It was released on February 1, 1994 through Reprise Records. It was the band's first collaboration with producer Rob Cavallo and its major record label debut. Dookie became a worldwide commercial success, peaking at number two on the U.S. Billboard 200 and charting in seven countries. The album helped to propel Green Day into mainstream popularity.

Dookie produced five hit singles for the band: "Longview", "When I Come Around", "Basket Case", a re-recorded version of "Welcome to Paradise" and the radio-only single "She". As of 2010^[update], Dookie is the band's best-selling album, with 16 million copies sold worldwide.^[1] Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album in 1995. In 2003, Rolling Stone ranked Dookie at 193 on the list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

Background and recording[link]

Following the underground success of the band's second studio album Kerplunk (1992), a number of major record labels became interested in Green Day.^[2] Representatives of these labels attempted to entice the band to sign by inviting them for meals to discuss a deal, with one manager even inviting the group to Disneyland.^[3] The band declined these advances until meeting producer and Reprise representative Rob Cavallo. They were impressed by his work with fellow Californian band The Muffs, and later remarked that Cavallo "was the only person we could really talk to and connect with".^[3]

Eventually, the band left their independent record label Lookout! Records on friendly terms, and signed to Reprise. Signing to a major label caused many of the band's original fans from the independent music club 924 Gilman Street to regard Green Day as sell-outs.^[4][5] The club has banned Green Day from entering since the major label signing.^[3] Reflecting back on the period, lead vocalist Billie Joe Armstrong told Spin magazine in 1999, "I couldn't go back to the punk scene, whether we were the biggest success in the world or the biggest failure [...] The only thing I could do was get on my bike and go forward."^[6]

Cavallo was chosen as the main producer of the album, with Jerry Finn as the mixer. Green Day originally gave the first demo tape to Cavallo, and after listening to it during the car ride home he sensed that "[he] had stumbled on something big."^[2] The band's recording session lasted three weeks and the album was remixed twice.^[3] Armstrong claimed that the band wanted to create a dry sound, "similar to the Sex Pistols' album or first Black Sabbath albums."^[7] The band felt the original mix to be unsatisfactory. Cavallo agreed, and it was remixed at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California.^[7] Armstrong later said of their studio experience, "Everything was already written, all we had to do was play it."^[3][7]

Writing and composition[link]

Much of the album's content was written by Armstrong, except "Emenius Sleepus" written by bassist Mike Dirnt, and the hidden track, "All by Myself", which was composed and written by drummer Tré Cool. The album touched upon various experiences of the band members and included subjects like anxiety and panic attacks, masturbation, sexual orientation, boredom, and ex-girlfriends.^[3]

The single "Longview" had a signature bass line that bassist Dirnt wrote while under the influence of LSD.^[8] He originally forgot much of it, but the remembered portions were included in the song. Armstrong stated that the song was mainly about boredom, masturbation, and smoking cannabis, as evident in some of the lyrics ("When masturbation's lost its fun/You're fucking lonely" (inaccurately quoted as "You're fucking breaking" in the liner notes)).

	"Longview" noicon Sample of "Longview", the first single from Dookie, which combined a memorable bass line with a guitar riff and drums introduced in the chorus. "Basket Case" noicon Sample of "Basket Case", the third single from Dookie, which was about Armstrong's panic attacks.
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"Welcome to Paradise", the second single from Dookie, was originally on the band's second studio album, Kerplunk. The song was re-recorded with a less grainy sound for Dookie.^[2] The song never had an official music video; however, a certain live performance of the song is often associated as a music video. The video is located on Green Day's official website.^[9]

The hit single "Basket Case", which appeared on many singles charts worldwide,^[10][11] was also inspired by Armstrong's personal experiences. The song deals with Armstrong's anxiety attacks and feelings of "going crazy" prior to being diagnosed with a panic disorder.^[7] The music video was filmed in an abandoned mental institution.

The radio-only single, "She", was written by Armstrong about a former girlfriend who showed him a feminist poem with an identical title.^[7] In return, Armstrong wrote the lyrics of "She" and showed them to her.^[7] She later moved to Ecuador, prompting Armstrong to put "She" on the album. The same ex-girlfriend is the topic of the songs "Sassafras Roots" and "Chump".^[7]

The final single, "When I Come Around", was again inspired by a woman, though this time being about Armstrong's wife, then former girlfriend, Adrienne. Following a dispute between the couple, Armstrong left Adrienne to spend some time alone.^[2] The video featured the three band members walking around Berkeley and San Francisco at night, eventually ending up back at the original location. Future touring back up guitarist, Jason White, made a cameo in the video with his then-girlfriend.^[3]

Another song, "Coming Clean", deals with Armstrong's coming to terms with his bisexuality when he was 16 and 17 years old.^[12] In his interview with The Advocate magazine, he says that although he has never had a relationship with a man, his sexuality has been "something that comes up as a struggle in me".

Billie Joe Armstrong wrote the song "In the End" about his mother and her husband. He is quoted saying: "That song is about my mother's husband, it's not really about a girl, or like anyone directly related to me in a relationship. In the End's about my mother."^[13]

Armstrong also wrote the song "Having a Blast" when he was in Cleveland in 1992.^[14]

Bassist Mike Dirnt stated in an interview that although he used a Gibson G3 bass at the time, he recorded Dookie with varied Fender Precision Basses.

Packaging and title[link]

The name of the album is a reference to the band members often suffering from diarrhea, which they referred to as "liquid dookie", as a result of eating spoiled food whilst on tour. Initially the band were to name the album "Liquid Dookie"; however, this was deemed "too gross", and so they settled on the name "Dookie".^[3][7]

The cover art is an illustration by Richie Bucher, which depicts bombs being dropped on people and buildings. In the center, there is an explosion, with the band's name at the top. Armstrong has since explained the meaning of the artwork:

The back cover on early prints of the CD featured a plush toy of Ernie from Sesame Street, which was airbrushed out of later prints for fear of litigation; however, Canadian prints still feature Ernie still intact on the back cover.^[3] Some rumors suggest that it was removed because it led parents to think that Dookie was a child's lullaby album or that the creators of Sesame Street had sued Green Day.^[2]

Release[link]

Upon its release, Dookie charted in seven countries. The album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 in the United States,^[4] and was a success in several other countries, peaking as high as number one in New Zealand;^[16] the lowest peak in any country was in the United Kingdom at number 13.^[11] While all the singles from the album charted in a few countries, the hit single "Basket Case" entered the top 10 in the United Kingdom and Sweden. Later in 1995, the album received a Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, with "Longview" and "Basket Case" each being nominated for a Grammy.

Throughout the 1990s, Dookie continued to sell well, eventually receiving diamond certification^[17] in 1999; by 2007, Dookie had sold over 15 million copies worldwide and remains the band's best-selling album.^[18]

Reception[link]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[19]
Robert Christgau	A−[20]
The New York Times	(favorable)[21]
Rolling Stone	[22]

The album was well-received by all critics, with Allmusic describing Dookie as "a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered".^[19] In 1994, Time claimed Dookie as the third best album of the year, but the best rock album of 1994.^[23] The New York Times, in early 1995, described the sound of Dookie as, "Punk turns into pop in fast, funny, catchy, high-powered songs about whining and channel-surfing; apathy has rarely sounded so passionate."^[21] Rolling Stone described Green Day as "convincing mainly because they've got punk's snotty anti-values down cold: blame, self-pity, arrogant self-hatred, humor, narcissism, fun".^[22]

The New York Times, while complimentary on the album's overall quality, noted that Dookie's pop sound only remotely resembled punk music.^[24] The band did not respond initially to these comments, but later claimed that they were "just trying to be themselves" and that "it's our band, we can do whatever we want".^[3] Dirnt claimed that the follow-up album, Insomniac, one of the band's hardest albums lyrically and musically, was the band releasing their anger at all the criticism from critics and former fans.^[3]

Since its release, Dookie has been featured heavily in various "must have" lists compiled by the music media. Some of the more prominent of these lists to feature Dookie are shown below; this information is adapted from Acclaimed Music.^[25]

[edit] Dookie tour

Armstrong performing in 1994.

Immediately following the release of Dookie, the band embarked on an international tour, beginning in the United States, for which they used a bookmobile belonging to Tré Cool's father to travel between shows.^[3] An audience of millions saw Green Day's performance at Woodstock '94 on Pay-per-view, helping the band attract more fans. This event was the location of the infamous^[34] mud fight between the band and the crowd, which continued beyond the end of Green Day's set.^[35] During the fight, Dirnt was mistaken for a fan by a security guard, who tackled him and then threw him against a monitor, causing him to injure his arm and break two of his teeth.^[36]

The band also appeared at Lollapalooza and the Madison Square Garden charity event, where Armstrong performed the song "She" naked.^[37] Having toured throughout the United States and Canada, the band played a few shows in Europe before beginning the recording sessions for the subsequent album, Insomniac. During the tour, Armstrong was quite homesick. His wife, Adrienne Armstrong, whom he had married shortly after the release of Dookie, was pregnant during most of the tour, and Armstrong was upset about being unable to help and care for her. Being away from his family during the Dookie tour, and the following tours for the next few albums, eventually caused the band to break up temporarily.^[3]

Track listing[link]

All lyrics written by Billie Joe Armstrong, except where noted, all music composed by Green Day.

Personnel[link]

• Billie Joe Armstrong — lead vocals, guitar
• Mike Dirnt — bass, backing vocals
• Tré Cool — drums, percussion, lead vocals and guitar on "All by Myself"

Production

• Rob Cavallo; Green Day — producers, mixers
• Jerry Finn — mixer
• Neill King — engineer
• Casey McCrankin — engineer
• Richie Bucher — cover artist
• Ken Schles - photography
• Pat Hynes - booklet artwork

Chart positions[link]

Album[link]

End of decade charts[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Dookie at Discogs
• Dookie on Rate Your Music site

Al Roker
At the 81st Academy Awards in February 2009
Born	Albert Lincoln Roker, Jr. (1954-08-20) August 20, 1954 (age 57) Queens, New York, U.S.
Alma mater	State University of New York at Oswego (B.A. Communications, 1976)
Occupation	TV weatherman, actor, author
Years active	1974–present
Spouse	Deborah Roberts (since 1995)
Website
alroker.com

Albert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American television weatherman as well as an actor and book author. He is best known as being the weather anchor on NBC's Today.^[1] On Monday, July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show, Wake Up with Al,^[2] on The Weather Channel,^[2] which airs weekdays from 6am to 7am ET, one hour earlier than Today. He holds an expired American Meteorological Society Television Seal, #238. Writing with Dick Lochte, Roker began a series of murder mysteries in 2009 that feature Billy Blessing, a celebrity chef turned amateur detective. The second book in the series, The Midnight Show Murders (2010), was nominated for a 2011 Nero Award.^[3]

Early life[link]

Roker was born in Queens, New York,^[4] the son of Isabel, of Jamaican descent, and Albert Lincoln Roker, Sr.,^[5] a labor relations negotiator, bus driver and dispatcher of Bahamian descent.^[6] Roker initially wanted to be a cartoonist.^[5] He was raised Catholic^[5] (in the faith of his mother) and graduated from Xavier High School in Manhattan.^[7] He worked on several projects as a member of the school's Cartooning & Illustration Club. He attended the State University of New York at Oswego where he double-majored in graphic design and broadcasting/journalism. Roker is the cousin of the late actress Roxie Roker, who was most notable for her role on the sitcom The Jeffersons and the mother of popular rock musician Lenny Kravitz.^[8]

Career[link]

Roker outside the Pentagon.

Before the national recognition, Roker worked as a weather anchor for CBS affiliate WHEN-TV (now WTVH) in Syracuse, New York from 1974 until 1976, while he was still enrolled at SUNY Oswego. Following the completion of his collegiate studies, Roker moved to Washington, D.C. and took a weathercasting position at independent station WTTG, then owned by Metromedia, remaining there for much of the next two years.

Roker's career with NBC began in 1978 when he was hired at WKYC-TV in Cleveland, then an NBC owned-and-operated station. After five successful years in Cleveland, Roker was promoted to the network's flagship outlet, WNBC-TV in his hometown. Roker returned to New York City in late 1983 as a weekend meteorologist, and within eight months became the station's regular weeknight weathercaster. Roker replaced 27-year WNBC-TV veteran Dr. Frank Field, who left the network after a contract dispute. From 1983 to 1996, Roker was the regular substitute for forecaster Joe Witte on the NBC News program NBC News at Sunrise, and from 1990 to 1995 filled-in for Willard Scott on the Today Show. In 1995, he became the host of The Al Roker Show,^[9] a weekend talk show on CNBC. In 1996–1997, he hosted a game show on MSNBC called Remember This?.^[9]

Roker started getting more exposure, especially when David Letterman asked him to do an elevator race with him in one episode of his talk show Late Night with David Letterman, which taped across the hall from WNBC's news studio in the GE Building. That led Roker to getting a job as the forecaster for Weekend Today, where he did the weather for nine years.^[6] He also substituted on the weekday edition of Today^[6] when Willard Scott was ill or away. In 1996, Scott announced his semi-retirement from the show, and Roker received the weekday weather position on Today, where he has been since. He officially joined Today on January 26, 1996. Roker became popular for doing his forecasts outside of the studio, interviewing audience members and giving some of them camera time. Roker also began doing more interviews and segments on the show as time progressed.

In 2005, Roker reported from inside Hurricane Wilma.^[10] A popular viral video exists on the internet of Roker being swept off his feet by the force of the hurricane and holding on to his cameraman.^[10]

Roker is a game show fan, and hosted a week-long segment on Today in honor of five game shows and their hosts. He also appeared as a celebrity player on both Wheel of Fortune^[11] and Jeopardy!.^[11] In 2008, Roker hosted NBC's Celebrity Family Feud.^[12][13] Roker also substituted Meredith Vieira for a week of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire shows on March 5–9, 2007.^[14]

Roker also hosts various programs on The Food Network,^[15] namely, Roker on the Road,^[15] and, Tricked-Out Tailgating. He is also the author of several non-fiction books, and an avid barbecue enthusiast.^[12][13]

Roker was also the forecaster for several radio stations, including the New York smooth jazz radio station WQCD (101.9 FM) and for Cleveland smooth jazz station WNWV (107.3 FM). The service was called the "Al Roker Radio Weather Network", it was provided by United Stations Radio Networks. He has since been replaced on those networks by Accuweather.^[16] Roker currently (2010) has a five-hour weekday morning stint 6–11 a.m. on The Weather Channel (TWC).

Personal life[link]

Roker's wife, his third, is fellow journalist Deborah Roberts,^[17] who has reported for both ABC^[17] and NBC,^[17] meeting Roker when she joined the latter in 1990 as a reporter. Roker has three children.

On November 7, 2010, he ran in the ING New York City Marathon.

In the July 2011 issue of Us Weekly in 25 Things You Did not Know About Me, Roker is a second cousin of rocker Lenny Kravitz.

Health problems[link]

In 2002,^[18] Roker underwent gastric bypass surgery to lose weight, which he said he did after failing at numerous diets. Eight months after that surgery, the New York Daily News reported he dropped 100 pounds (45 kg) off his 320-pound figure.^[19] On Thursday, June 7, Roker underwent a total knee arthoplasty (replacement, or "TKR") on his left knee. In 2005, Roker had a back operation.

Charity work[link]

In 2007, Roker became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.^[20] He also served as the official spokesperson for Amtrak's National Train Day, which took place on May 10, 2008.^[21]

Controversy[link]

On June 7, 2007, Roker referenced the logo for 2012 Summer Olympics:

Remember that controversial Olympic logo for the 2012 Olympics in London? Some folks have complained that the campaign actually sent them into epileptic seizures. Well, we asked you to weigh in on our website in an informal poll; those of you who could get up off the floor after shaking around were able to actually log in.^[22]

The following day Roker stated, "I started joking about [the logo]. I want to make this clear—I was not joking about epilepsy or anyone who suffers from epilepsy. We understand and know that this is a serious affliction and would never joke about that. We were joking about the logo—not about epilepsy. If anybody was offended, I heartily and really humbly apologize."^[22] He was called a "kook" by a local weather lady when she thought that she was off air.^{[citation needed]}

Sasha Baron Cohen, in character as Admiral Gen. Aladeen, at a Today interview, said "How is your eunuch Al Roker?".

Signature phrases[link]

• On many occasions on Today he has used the phrase "man candy" to describe attractive males.^[23]

• At the end of his weather segments when they cut to local broadcasters for regional updates he says "That's what's going on around the country, here's what's happening in your neck of the woods". (Willard Scott's outcue phrase was "Here's what's happening in your world, even as we speak.")

• When he mentions Sunday's weather forecast on Fridays, oftentimes he restates the word "Sunday" sounding like it's coming from an echo chamber. This is likely related to radio ads for Sunday races e.g. at drag strips, "Sunday, Sunday(echo), Thompson Drag Raceway..." which was commonly heard e.g. on Cleveland radio.

Other appearances and activities[link]

• On the May 9, 1998, episode of Saturday Night Live (hosted by David Duchovny), Roker appeared in a "Mango" sketch with Matt Lauer. Usually, the sketch follows the fruitless pursuit of Mango by a character (portrayed by the host). In the middle of this particular sketch, Roker appeared as the object of Lauer's affection. Instead of the famous catch-phrase "Mango, Mango!" Lauer says, "Roker, ROKER!!"
• During the inaugural parade of President Barack Obama, Al Roker was able to get the "first interview" with the President by removing his Fedora hat and yelling to the walking President to come over. Acknowledging Roker, Obama continued walking along the parade route, telling him "it's warm!"^[24]
• Roker holds the record for most appearances on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", with over 30. He would often appear on the show as a last minute replacement if a previously scheduled guest canceled their appearance.^[25]
• Roker became an honorary member of Phi Beta Sigma fraternity on August 19, 2009.
• Roker appeared in some commercials for PBS Kids and one of its shows, Between the Lions.
• Roker appeared as a guest singer for The Wiggles song and video ""Thank you Mr Weatherman"" where he sported an orange Wiggles outfit.
• Roker appeared in an episode of Will and Grace, "Acting Out," in which he played himself.
• In the movie Men in Black Roker appears in an on-screen montage of aliens living on earth in human form.

Filmography[link]

• 2011: The Wiggles Ukulele Baby!
• 2009: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs (voice)
• 2008: Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa (voice)
• 2005: Robots (voice)
• 2003: Cyberchase (voice, 3 episodes)
• 2003: Wholey Moses (short film, voice)
• 2003: Freedom: A History of Us (History Channel special)
• 1997: The Single Guy (1 episode)
• 1996: NewsRadio (1 episode)
• 1993: Seinfeld (The Cigar Store Indian, 1 episode)

Bibliography[link]

2000: Don't Make Me Stop This Car! reflections on fatherhood ISBN 9780684868936

Billy Blessing novels[link]

• 2009: The Morning Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. ISBN 0-385-34368-X.
• 2010: The Midnight Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte; nominated for the 2011 Nero Award. ISBN 0-385-34369-8.
• 2011: The Talk Show Murders. Co-authored by Dick Lochte. ISBN 0-385-34370-1.

See also[link]

• Bahamian American
• The Proud Family

References[link]

Notes

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Al Roker

• Official website
• Al Roker at the Internet Movie Database
• Al Roker Investigates at CourtTV.com
• Roker's NBC biography
• Al Roker at Foodnetwork.com
• "Al Roker chats with Mad Dog & Billie on Toronto's MIX FM". Archived from the original on 2007-01-28. http://web.archive.org/web/20070128230910/http://www.999mixfm.com/audio_video_mdb. 
• Roker's Favorite Books
• Al's Book Club for Kids