There are many musicians who started their careers quite early, but how many of them recorded their first single at the age of five? From childhood, Billie was encouraged to play and sing, just for fun, of course. However, there is a chance that the singer had talent in his genes, because the artist’s father, apart from working as a driver in a supermarket chain, was also a jazz musician. But where does this single come from in a preschooler?
The owner of a local music store, and also a small record label, immediately noticed the five-year-old’s talent. James Fiatarone So he made an unusual proposal to the future star’s mother. She allegedly agreed to allow her son to record a few songs, and in return, the Armstrong siblings were to receive free music lessons. A fair deal. The store owner’s wife also conducted an interview with the young singer that even an adult Billie would be ashamed of. The artist stated that he loves singing and making people happy with music. When asked how long he had been singing, the five-year-old confidently replied, “For many years.” Of course, the talented kid sparked interest, but let’s be honest: he couldn’t count on any career yet.
However, Armstrong had already decided that he wanted to pursue playing and singing in his life. Four years later, the musician wrote in a school essay that he intended to have a rock ‘n’ roll band. The singer planned his career very carefully. At the age of 15 he was supposed to start a group, at the age of 20 he already had a lot of professional equipment, and by the age of thirty he wanted to become a star. You won’t believe it, but the artist implemented this plan with a vengeance. 14-year-old Armstrong founded his first band, a few years later he already had a recording contract in his pocket, and before his 30th birthday he was a star thanks to his debut album. A group, by the way GreenDay recorded the album “Dookie” in the exact same studio where preschooler Billie recorded her first single.
Being a musician is a great job, but show business is a shaky field. Armstrong knew this perfectly well, and although he dreamed of performing on stage, he was also preparing a plan B for himself. In the same school work in which he predicted his musical success, the artist revealed that if necessary, he would like to become an American football player. Not just any one – the best. In his mind’s eye, Billie saw his team winning consecutive matches, winning every possible championship title and being undefeated. As we already know today, the singer did not have the opportunity to prove himself on the pitch, because the plan to pursue a musical career fortunately failed.
In a sense, this was helped by the family situation, because after the death of the artist’s father, his mother married a man whom Billie – to put it mildly – did not like. So Armstrong resorted to gaming to spend as little time at home as possible. Eventually, the singer left school and took up music for good. He never returned to football plans, although he did not abandon his love for the sport. The star loves baseball, although he prefers watching it rather than playing it, but he decided to pass on his love for this discipline to his sons. Billie and his wife Adrienne even coached the boys’ children’s team. Who knows, maybe it’s an idea for a hobby in retirement?
It may not necessarily fit the rock ‘n’ roll image, but Armstrong is very much a family man. No wonder, since his mother first supported his career dreams, and later his wife helped in realizing them. It was from Billie’s mother that he got his first guitar. The instrument with the graceful name “Blue” is familiar to all loyal fans of the Green Day group. The musician’s mother also helped arrange the first concert of her son’s band, which was still called at that time SweetChildren. It’s true that Billie sang in the song “Longview“: “My mother tells me to find a job, but she doesn’t like hers,” but that’s not entirely true.
Ollie was a waitress at a classic American diner for many years and really enjoyed it. What’s more, the woman worked there even when her son started earning a lot of money and wanted to support her. Anyway, one day Ollie persuaded her boss to let a young, talented team into the premises. This is how Armstrong and his colleagues made their debut on October 17, 1987 in a pub Rod’s Hickory Pit, in front of a large audience of 30 people. The place was converted many years later into a gas station with a cafe. In any case, three years after this performance, Billie played another concert that turned out to be extremely important to him. During a performance in Minneapolis, he met the singer Adrienne Nesser, that is… his future wife. It turns out that almost the entire Armstrong family boasts musical talent. The team even recorded a mini album under the name The Boo. Adrienne stood behind the microphone together, and the parents were joined by their sons, Jakob and Joey. The release was a Christmas gift for family and friends, but who knows, maybe the group will make a serious comeback one day.
Billie can’t stand boredom, so whenever she has a free moment, she comes up with new activities. Perhaps this is where the musician’s passion for acting came from. The singer began his career in front of the camera with a guest appearance in the production “Haunted“. It’s a series about a former policeman who discovers that he can see ghosts. Armstrong played the ghost of a man who bets on horse races. The artist also played himself in several films and documentaries, and in 2016 he even appeared in the main role in the film “Perry Crisis“.
Billie played an aging punk rocker who can’t really cope with “ordinary” life. The musician, of course, also played a role in a production in which many of his colleagues appeared, i.e. “The Simpsons”. IN “The SimpsonsMovie” the entire Green Day lineup performed. However, the singer is still waiting for the role of a lifetime. Armstrong is a big fan Austin Powers and dreams of becoming a not always clever spy. The song “Espionage” by Green Day even appeared on the soundtrack of the movie “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Never Dies”, but it is not the same as the on-screen performance. However, if another film in this series were to be made, Billie could put it on his CV that he even named his cat Basil Exposition, after Austin Powers’ boss.
In a ranking of the most composed musicians, Armstrong could hardly count on a high position. But let’s be fair: no one expects punk rockers to be polite and docile. Billie likes to provoke, and he is no stranger to brawls, not only on stage. One of the most exciting events of the Woodstock ’94 festival was the battle between Green Day musicians and fans. Let’s add: a mud fight. The event turned out to be a failure, and it was raining all the time, so on the day of the band’s performance, the crowd was clearly underwhelmed. Then the singer said from the stage: “How are you, rich motherfuckers?”
It ended with most of the shows either people throwing mud at Green Day or musicians throwing mud at the crowd. The artist argued not with the audience, but with the organizers, a few years later, during the iHeartRadio festival. When the musician saw the information on the screen that the band had only one minute left to perform, Billie became furious. “I’m not some Justin Bieber” – the artist shouted, and then he started smashing the instruments. Armstrong was already under the influence of alcohol, no wonder he sought help right after the fight. Given these events, the story of throwing the singer from the plane seems like child’s play. The staff asked the star to pull up his pants, and he refused and asked if the airline employees had anything better to do. Billie was thrown off the plane, although the airline later apologized to the musician for the incident.
Friendships in show business can be surprising and sometimes it turns out that the people who get along best are people you wouldn’t even put in the same room together. One of Billie’s good friends is, for example Norah Jones, about which the musician says that “he can sing everything”. The artists even recorded a duet album as a tribute to the group The Everly Brothers. This is not the end of surprises. It turns out that it’s not just the name that connects Armstrong with… Billie Eilish. The musician appreciates her songs, which is nice, because the young singer does not hide the fact that she grew up listening to, among others, the group Green Day.
Who else does the artist like and respect? Lady Gaga. The singer has been listening to Green Day since their debut album, so it’s no surprise that she appeared in the musical “American Idiot” on Broadway. The singer took photos with the entire crew, and the musicians have been friends ever since. So who doesn’t Billie like? A punk rocker hates songs Nickelback and Creed, so you can’t count on a great private friendship between musicians. It’s the same with the group Slipknot. CoreyTaylor he likes listening to different genres and bands, but Armstrong is unlikely to play a colleague’s album. When a mask similar to those worn by Slipknot members landed on stage at one of Green Day’s concerts, the artist was not thrilled and said that maybe the group would try to write at least one good song.
Billie never hid the fact that he had problems with substance abuse and mental health problems, such as severe panic attacks. The musician sang about his problems, among others, in the hit “Basket Case“and years later in the song”Dillema” from 2024, which he says is one of the most honest songs in his life. The artist argues that it is worth seeking help if someone cannot cope with problems.
He himself needed such help after the famous brawl at the iHeartRadio Music Festival. The singer tried to drink alcohol again after several years of sobriety, but things got out of control and ended with, among other things, the scandal on stage. “I got to a place where I was exhausted mentally and physically, I just felt terrible. I was tired of being tired,” Armstrong admitted to SiriusXM. The artist said publicly that after that therapy he no longer drinks because – as he told People magazine – alcohol prevents him from being a happy person. The only stimulant Billie has no intention of giving up is coffee. Green Day musicians founded a company that produces their own mixes. The grains come from organic farming and are sold in environmentally friendly packaging.