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This St. Patrick's Day, Go Green With Music

Check out the Recording Academy's ultimate GRAMMY St. Patrick's Day playlist.

GRAMMYs/Mar 16, 2011 - 11:06 pm

St. Patrick's Day is a holiday celebrated worldwide in honor of the anniversary of St. Patrick's death in the fifth century. While named after St. Patrick, the most commonly recognized of the patron saints of Ireland, it began as purely a Christian holiday but has morphed over the years into a day celebrated by not just the Irish, but the Irish at heart.

In the United States, St. Patrick's Day is commemorated with lavish parades in many cities, including festivities in Boston, New York and Philadelphia that date back to the 18th century. Celebrants engage in all things green, shamrocks, Irish food and drink, and other fun activities — some cities, such as Chicago, have even been known to dye to their rivers green.

But what would all the festivities be without a little music? With that in the mind, following is our green-tinted GRAMMY St. Patrick's Day playlist.

U2, "Beautiful Day"

Every day is a beautiful day, especially St. Patrick's Day. (Or if you happen to be Bono.) This song from Ireland's favorite rock band won three GRAMMYs in 2000 for Record Of The Year, Song Of The Year and Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.

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Sinéad O'Connor, "Nothing Compares 2 U"

Born in Dublin, O'Connor rose to prominence with the GRAMMY-nominated "Nothing Compares 2 U," which climbed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1990. O'Connor picked up a GRAMMY for Best Alternative Music Performance for I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got the same year.

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Culture Club​, "Do You Really Want To Hurt Me"

Boy George has a touch of Irish lineage. His mother Dinah O'Dowd was born in Dublin and his father Gerry O'Dowd also has Irish roots. The colorful vocalist made his musical mark with Culture Club, which blended elements of pop, dance, new wave and soul, and won the Best New Artist GRAMMY in 1983.

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Roger Daltrey & The Chieftains, "Behind Blue Eyes"

Arguably Ireland's most famous traditional folk band, the Chieftains have crafted their unique sound for more than four decades. This cover of the Who classic, though blue, is featured on their very green GRAMMY-winning album An Irish Evening — Live At The Grand Opera House, Belfast.

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Van Morrison​, "Brown Eyed Girl"

The classic status of GRAMMY-winning Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl" was further cemented in 2007 when it was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame. Morrison is a native of Belfast, Ireland, and brown and green do go well together.

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Green Day, "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams"

After putting back one too many at the local pub, Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" may or may not be appropriate. The song, taken from their 2004 American Idiot album, won the GRAMMY for Record Of The Year in 2005.

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Cee Lo Green, "F*** You"

If the change in your pockets wasn't enough and you're finding yourself green with envy because your ex-significant other recently moved on in favor of an Xbox upgrade, this is your song. Cee Lo himself proved to be much more than an Atari, picking up Best Urban/Alternative Performance honors at last month's 53rd GRAMMYs.

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Booker T. & The MG's, "Green Onions"

Booker T. & The MG's were renowned for their tight Memphis R&B grooves and backing hits by artists such as Sam & Dave, Otis Redding and Wilson Pickett, among others. They could also cook up a mean batch of "Green Onions" — this song was inducted into the GRAMMY Hall Of Fame in 1999.

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The Black Keys, "Tighten Up"

Though their band name bears black and their style incorporates elements of blues, the Black Keys do have some green in them. Drummer Patrick Carney's surname has Irish origins, meaning warrior or soldier. The Black Keys recently had a little Irish luck on their side, winning for Best Rock Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals at the 53rd Annual GRAMMY Awards.

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Al Green, "As Long As We're Together"

This 11-time GRAMMY winner has turned Green into gold over the years, including the award for Best Soul Gospel Vocal Performance, Male Or Female for "As Long As We're Together" in 1989.

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The Muppets, "Bein' Green"

Sometimes "it's not that easy bein' green" — just ask Kermit the Frog, or better yet ask Oscar the Grouch. But if there is any day that it is easy, it would be St. Patrick's Day. This contemplative number, sung by Kermit himself, is featured on the Muppets' 1978 GRAMMY-winning The Muppet Show.

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New Christy Minstrels, "Green Green"

Perhaps one of the lesser-known popular post-World War II folk acts, the New Christy Minstrels were nominated for a Best Folk Recording GRAMMY in 1963 for "Green, Green," on which they ruminate about finding a place "where the grass is greener still."

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Various Artists, Green Eggs And Ham And Other Servings Of Dr. Seuss

This spoken-word album, which features nine of Dr. Seuss' classic children stories including Green Eggs And Ham read by Jason Alexander, garnered a GRAMMY nomination in 2004 for Best Spoken Word Album For Children. And since you're probably sick of green by now, also try One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish, read by David Hyde Pierce.

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Which artists fill up your St. Patrick's Day playlist?

ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam
LØLØ

Photo: Courtesy of LØLØ

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ReImagined: LØLØ Flips Green Day's "Boulevard Of Broken Dreams" Into An Acoustic Jam

Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ offers a stripped-down rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," the GRAMMY-winning smash from her childhood inspirations, Green Day.

GRAMMYs/Mar 19, 2024 - 05:00 pm

Almost exactly two decades ago, Green Day traced the story of a lonely teenager, Jesus of Suburbia, in their seventh album, American Idiot. Its most notable chapter, "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," earned the band Record Of The Year at the 2006 GRAMMYs.

In this episode of ReImagined, Canadian pop-punk singer LØLØ delivers her take on the song, an ethereal acoustic version.

LØLØ is a longtime fan of Green Day. In an interview with Kerrang! magazine, she recalled their single "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" as the first song she learned to play. She later told idobi Radio that her 2023 track "omg" was "a bunch of intrusive thoughts jumbled into a song, wondering if I will ever be enough, or ever be as cool as Green Day."

This year, LØLØ released two original singles, "poser" and "2 of us," via Hopeless Records.

Press play on the video above to hear LØLØ's fresh rendition of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams," and check back to GRAMMY.com for more new episodes of ReImagined.

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

U2 Performs "Atomic City" & Transports The 2024 GRAMMYs To Las Vegas
The Sphere in Las Vegas

Photo: Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

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U2 Performs "Atomic City" & Transports The 2024 GRAMMYs To Las Vegas

Bono and co.’s long-distance return to the 2024 GRAMMYs marks the Sphere, a state-of-the-art Sin City structure. The 22-time GRAMMY winners performed a jaunty take on "Atomic City" among incredible visuals.

GRAMMYs/Feb 5, 2024 - 02:51 am

U2 transported Music's Biggest Night from the Crytpo.com Arena in Los Angeles to Las Vegas on Sunday night, performing their song "Atomic City" live from the Sphere. 

"Guitar, she pulls the strings et cetera/ Sinatra swings, a choir sings/ Love is God and God is love/ And if your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough," Bono wailed as the cameras took in the majesty and awe of the futuristic venue just off the Vegas Strip.

Following the performance, the live segment also featured a special presentation of Best Pop Vocal Album Award to Taylor Swift for 2022’s Midnights — with the superstar using her acceptance speech to announce the April 19 release date for her 11th studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

Bono and co.’s long-distance return to the GRAMMYs (where they last performed at the 2018 GRAMMYs) marks the first live broadcast from the state-of-the-art Sin City structure, which the 22-time GRAMMY winners are currently breaking in as a performance venue with their residency U2:UV Achtung Baby Live at Sphere.

Launched in September, U2’s inaugural run of 40 shows at the Sphere will wrap on March 2. After the Dublin rockers’ final concert highlighting their 1991 GRAMMY-winning album Achtung Baby, Dead & Company will take over the venue for their own residency with an assist from John Mayer.

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U2 Will Make GRAMMY History At The 2024 GRAMMYs With The First-Ever Broadcast Performance From Sphere In Las Vegas
U2

Image courtesy of the Recording Academy

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U2 Will Make GRAMMY History At The 2024 GRAMMYs With The First-Ever Broadcast Performance From Sphere In Las Vegas

GRAMMY winners U2 have been announced as performers at the 2024 GRAMMYs where they will deliver the first-ever broadcast performance from Sphere in Las Vegas. The event will also feature a special awards presentation.

GRAMMYs/Jan 26, 2024 - 07:59 pm

The globally influential, 22-time GRAMMY-winning legends U2 have been announced as performers at the 2024 GRAMMYs where they will deliver a special, history-making performance from Sphere in Las Vegas. The event will also feature a special awards presentation.

The news, announced today on social media, expands on U2's pioneering, record-setting run of their "U2:UV Achtung Baby Live At Sphere" residency, which has ushered in a new era of live entertainment innovation since launching last year. The performance at the 2024 GRAMMYs will mark the first-ever broadcast performance from Sphere, a first-of-its-kind, technologically groundbreaking venue.

U2 now join a stacked lineup of 2024 GRAMMYs performers, which includes Burna Boy, Billie Eilish, Billy Joel, Dua Lipa, Luke Combs, Olivia Rodrigo, and Travis Scott. Additional performers will be announced in the coming days and weeks. See the full list of performers and host at the 2024 GRAMMYs to date.

Learn More: 2024 GRAMMY Nominations: See The Full Nominees List

2024 GRAMMYs: Explore More & Meet The Nominees

The 2024 GRAMMYs, officially known as the 66th GRAMMY Awards, will broadcast live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles on Sunday, Feb. 4, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on the CBS Television Network and will be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.^ Prior to the Telecast, the GRAMMY Awards Premiere Ceremony will broadcast live from the Peacock Theater at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET and will be streamed live on live.GRAMMY.com. On GRAMMY Sunday, fans can access exclusive behind-the-scenes GRAMMY Awards content, including performances, acceptance speeches, interviews from the GRAMMY Live red-carpet special, and more via the Recording Academy's digital experience on live.GRAMMY.com.

Trevor Noah, the two-time GRAMMY-nominated comedian, actor, author, podcast host, and former "The Daily Show" host, returns to host the 2024 GRAMMYs for the fourth consecutive year; he is currently nominated at the 2024 GRAMMYs in the Best Comedy Album Category for his 2022 Netflix comedy special, I Wish You Would.

The 66th GRAMMY Awards are produced by Fulwell 73 Productions for the Recording Academy for the fourth consecutive year. Ben Winston, Raj Kapoor and Jesse Collins are executive producers.

^Paramount+ with SHOWTIME subscribers will have access to stream live via the live feed of their local CBS affiliate on the service, as well as on demand in the United States. Paramount+ Essential subscribers will not have the option to stream live but will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs in the U.S. only.

How To Watch The 2024 GRAMMYs Live: GRAMMY Nominations Announcement, Air Date, Red Carpet, Streaming Channel & More

Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later
Tré Cool, Billie Joe Armstrong and Mike Dirnt of Green Day

Photo: Cindy Ord / Getty Images for SiriusXM

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Green Day's 'Saviors': How Their New Album Links 'Dookie' & 'American Idiot' Decades Later

The punk stalwarts made a U-turn on 2020's 'Father of All'; with its follow-up, 'Saviors,' they're barrelling forward while honoring their past. Here's how Green Day ramped up to it.

GRAMMYs/Jan 19, 2024 - 02:09 pm

Green Day's new album represents a spiritual link between their past and present. Fittingly titled Saviors, the band's 14th release is wholly in the present while connecting to their lynchpin albums: 1994's Dookie and 2004's American Idiot.

The quartet will tour Saviors — which was released Jan. 19 and shares a title with the tour — in conjunction with the 20th and 30th anniversaries of Green Day's major albums. As with any major milestone, creating a new record as two of their biggest albums aged created a bit of wistful creative confusion. 

"Did I want it to be an old-school Green Day punk record, or did I want to do something that felt more lush and stadiumlike?" leader Billie Joe Armstrong told Vulture. "When we saw it come together, I remembered thinking, Oh, this is the connection. Saviors does feel like a trifecta with Dookie and American Idiot where it feels like a life's work.

"I went from not knowing what the hell I was doing," Armstrong continued, "to going, 'Oh gosh, we managed to bridge the gap between those two huge albums.'"

This summer, listeners can behold the triad: Green Day will perform the relentless, hilarious, melody-stuffed Dookie and stadium-sized, polemical American Idiot in full. Tickets to the international dates — with support from the Smashing Pumpkins, the Hives, the Linda Lindas, and many more — can be found at their website.

With Saviors out in the world, here's a breakdown of the ramp-up to the album.

Their Previous Album Took A Detour, But They're Back On Course

Green Day's last album, 2020's Father of All Motherf—ers — commonly shortened to Father of All… — was arguably their most divisive to date.

"Motown, glam and manic anthemic. Punks, freaks and punishers!" is how Armstrong, bassist Mike Dirnt and drummer Tré Cool described it. Which sums up its 10 frenzied tunes, which add up to a very lean 26 minutes.

But at times,
Father of All… didn't quite sound like Green Day, but an unpredictable  Frankenstein of retro and modern styles, a feel-bad Black Keys. And, sadly, the pandemic precluded them from proving these songs' mettle live.

Their next album would be tailored to the live experience — consciously or not. 

Saviors Was Almost Called 1972

And in many regards, Green Day decided to go back to their roots with Saviors. In fact, the original title was the year all three men were born.

When Green Day banded together in London with Rob Cavallo — who produced Dookie and American Idiot, among other career highlights — the album had the working title of 1972.

The album's title track resembles some of the sentiment on American Idiot, Armstrong told USA Today. "Saviors" centers on the feeling of being "desperate for answers and leadership and getting out of the mess we’re in."

Until the end of the recording process, Saviors didn't have its lead single, "The American Dream is Killing Me."

"The American Dream Is Killing Me" Came Late In The Game

Crafted as "a look at the way the traditional American Dream doesn't work for a lot of people" — as the band put it in a statement — "The American Dream is Killing Me" actually dates back to four years ago.

"It was one of the last things we recorded," Dirnt told Rolling Stone. "Rob's like, 'What else do you got?' As we get towards the end of recording, it was two songs. It was that one and 'Father to a Son.' And those two songs, Rob's like, 'Oh, you've got to record those.'"

They're Not Getting Sucked Into The Past

Two albums, from decades ago, performed front-to-back, in stadiums the world over: that could categorize Green Day as a nostalgia act. But Green Day are nostalgic for nothing; rather, they still harbor the ethos of their punk youth.

"I still try to maintain that kind of spirit about what we do," Armstrong told
People, "which is just being independent and free to express yourself the way that you want." That might mean a surprise set inside a New York City subway station, or announcing their Saviors tour plans on "The Howard Stern Show." 

"I think one of the strong points of this band is we just stay in the moment," Dirnt said to Rolling Stone. "Don't look backwards, and don't look too far forward. Stay in the moment, but appreciate the moment." And the Saviors tour will provide so many moments to remember.

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