Page "Punk rock" Paragraph 104

In 1993, California's Green Day and Bad Religion were both signed to major labels.

The next year, Green Day put out Dookie, which became a huge hit, selling nine million albums in the United States in just over two years.

Bad Religion's Stranger Than Fiction was certified gold.

Other California punk bands on the independent label Epitaph, run by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz, also began achieving mainstream popularity.

In 1994, Epitaph released Let's Go by Rancid, Punk in Drublic by NOFX, and Smash by The Offspring, each eventually certified gold or better.

That June, Green Day's " Longview " reached number one on Billboards Modern Rock Tracks chart and became a top forty airplay hit, arguably the first ever American punk song to do so ; just one month later, The Offspring's " Come Out and Play " followed suit.

MTV and radio stations such as Los Angeles ' KROQ-FM played a major role in these bands ' crossover success, though NOFX refused to let MTV air its videos.

Smash went on to sell over twelve million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling independent-label album of all time.