狂野夏洛特

Good Charlotte is an American rock band formed in Waldorf, Maryland, in 1995. The band currently consists of Joel Madden (lead vocals), Benji Madden (guitar, vocals), Paul Thomas (bass), and Billy Martin (guitar, keyboards).

The band released their debut album Good Charlotte in 2000. In 2002, they released their second album, The Young and the Hopeless. Featuring the singles "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous", "The Anthem" and "Girls & Boys", The Young and the Hopeless sold 3.5 million copies in the US and was certified triple platinum by the RIAA, for a total of almost 5 million copies sold worldwide.

The band followed up with The Chronicles of Life and Death in 2004; a darker album, both musically and lyrically. Backed by the singles "Predictable" and "I Just Wanna Live", The Chronicles of Life and Death continued the band's success, and the album was certified platinum by the RIAA, selling over one million copies in the US alone. In 2007, they released the dance-punk inspired album Good Morning Revival before going back to their pop-punk-roots with the album Cardiology in 2010.

After a four-year-long hiatus, the band announced its comeback on November 3, 2015. In 2016, the band released their sixth album, Youth Authority, before releasing their seventh album, Generation Rx, in 2018. In addition, they have released two compilations: Greatest Remixes in 2008 and Greatest Hits in 2010. The band released their eighth album, Motel Du Cap on August 8, 2025.

History

Early years (1995–1999)

Twin brothers Joel and Benji Madden formed Good Charlotte and worked full-time on the band. The Madden brothers focused on getting the band signed, reading books and magazines that would aid them in achieving this goal. They made promotional packages which they sent to record labels. Joel Madden learned that the girl he took to homecoming was a sister of bassist Paul Thomas. Thomas met the brothers and was impressed with their performance skills. and began playing clubs in the D.C. metro area. The Madden brothers moved to Annapolis, Maryland where they performed acoustic shows. The band named themselves Good Charlotte after the children's book, Good Charlotte: Girls of the Good Day Orphanage, by Carol Beach York.

Guitarist Billy Martin went to one of these shows at the insistence of Jimi HaHa of Jimmie's Chicken Shack. Martin became friends with the Madden brothers and let them move in with him after they were evicted from their apartment. Martin joined Good Charlotte after the trio learned they had a shared interest in the Australian rock band Silverchair and the break up of Martin's band Overflow. They wrote new songs and recorded and performed demos. The band worked in support slots for Blink-182, Lit and Bad Religion. In 1999, Good Charlotte opened for Save Ferris in Philadelphia. After the performance, they left a demo of "Little Things" that soon got airplay on local radio station Y100. Benji Madden was certain of the song's potential hit status with its high-school theme and the reality of its lyrics.