It’s one of Green Day’s most popular and adored songs, but Billie Joe Armstrong swore fans were going to have the opposite reaction the first time he played it in concert.
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The Green Day frontman is getting set to share his audiobook Welcome to My Panic as part of Audible’s Words + Music series and recalled the initial hesitation he had before performing “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” for the very first time.
"I remember the first time I ever sang it live. I thought people were gonna throw bottles at me because the single was gonna come out," Armstrong recalled.
"And so right at the end of our set, I remember going backstage. I was like, 'Okay, I'm gonna do it.' And I grabbed a beer and I chugged it. And then I went out with my guitar and I played it, and it got an amazing response."
Armstrong wrote the song in 1993 and originally showed it to his Green Day bandmates during the recording sessions from their landmark album Dookie. The band determined that the song didn’t fit on the album and opted to shelve it for future use.
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It was ultimately released as part of the band’s 1997 record Nimrod and became an instant hit. The song was used during the final Seinfeld episode and went on to become a staple at graduations and proms.
Armstrong touched on the widespread use of “Good Riddance” saying "I never anticipated that song going from like, playing, you know, dirty punk clubs to suddenly being quotes for someone's yearbook."
"It's really fun to play 'Good Riddance' live because you're able to look at people in the crowd, and it's at the end of a really sweaty — everybody dancing and going crazy, and you get this one last piece of music where people are really unified and singing along," Armstrong adds. "It makes me want to go out and play a show right now, actually."
WATCH MORE: 5 Green Day Lyrics That Made The Best AIM Away Messages
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