Dookie (stylized as dookie), released on February 1, 1994, was the highly influential third album by the punk rock band Green Day, and it was their first album on Reprise. The album was a breakthrough for the band, introducing them into mainstream popularity as well as commercial success. This album helped Green Day become one of the most popular bands of the 1990s. As of November 2006, the album holds a diamond certification for 10 million units shipped in the US alone and 20 million copies sold worldwide making it the best selling punk album of all time. The album was the band's major label debut for Warner's Reprise Records, causing considerable controversy in the punk community, with many critics claiming the band had "sold out." Controversy also surrounded the cover art, featuring a explosion and dogs dropping bombs and dirt on people and buildings. This is Green Day's second album to be banned. The album became a mainstream sensation with singles like "Longview", "Basket Case" and "When I Come Around" achieving #1 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart. Dookie reached #2 on the Billboard top 200 album chart.
The songs on Dookie blend fast and slow punk and included a transition between "Chump" and "Longview" that some see as an inspiration for the rock opera of 2004's American Idiot.
Dookie's first single, "Longview", refers to boredom-induced masturbation. Tré Cool's drum lead and Billie Joe Armstrong's fast fretwork evoke The Damned's "New Rose" and features a trademark Mike Dirnt bassline. Heavy play of the "Longview" and "Basket Case" music videos on MTV contributed to the band's popularity.
Dookie had received a very positive response, with All Music calling it, "...a stellar piece of modern punk that many tried to emulate but nobody bettered." Dookie appeared in the book 1,001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and in Rolling Stone Magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time issue, Dookie was placed at number 193.
In 1995, Dookie won the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album.
On the back of the album, a picture can be seen of a crowd of people apparently at a live performance. However, in the original 1994 variant of the album, one person can be seen holding a puppet of what appears to be Ernie from Sesame Street, while later variations do not show the puppet and instead show the man's arm down. This was removed due to fear that Sesame Street would file a lawsuit, and to avoid giving the impression that Dookie is a children's album.
