Who Wrote Holden Caulfield?

Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong remarked that in high school his teacher made him read The Catcher In The Rye by J.D. Salinger. This classic novel was very boring to him and he hated reading it (the idea of forcing a kid to read was repugnant to Billie Joe). When he became an adult he decided to read it again, as it was "punk rock." The narrator and main character of the novel is an outcast named Holden Caulfield - this song is about him.

Green Day wasn't famous yet when they released this song, at least not outside the California punk rock scene. It was issued on their second album, Kerplunk!, which led to a deal with the major label Reprise Records.