J.A.R.
1995 promotional single by Green Day
title: "J.A.R." type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1995-singles", "1995-songs", "commemoration-songs", "green-day-songs", "song-recordings-produced-by-rob-cavallo", "songs-about-suicide", "songs-written-by-mike-dirnt"] description: "1995 promotional single by Green Day" topic_path: "arts/music" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.A.R." license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary 1995 promotional single by Green Day ::
::data[format=table title="Infobox song"]
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) |
| cover | Green Day J.A.R. 7-inch single.jpg |
| border | yes |
| type | promotional single |
| artist | Green Day |
| album | Angus: Music from the Motion Picture and International Superhits! |
| released | |
| genre | * Punk rock |
| length | 2:51 |
| label | Reprise |
| lyricist | Mike Dirnt |
| composer | Green Day |
| prev_title | When I Come Around |
| prev_year | 1995 |
| next_title | Geek Stink Breath |
| next_year | 1995 |
| misc | |
| :: |
| name = J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) | cover = Green Day J.A.R. 7-inch single.jpg | alt = | border = yes | type = promotional single | artist = Green Day | album = Angus: Music from the Motion Picture and International Superhits! | released = | recorded = | studio = | genre = * Punk rock | length = 2:51 | label = Reprise | lyricist = Mike Dirnt | composer = Green Day | producer =
- Rob Cavallo
- Green Day | prev_title = When I Come Around | prev_year = 1995 | next_title = Geek Stink Breath | next_year = 1995 | misc =
"J.A.R." (alternatively titled "J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva)") is a song by the American rock band Green Day. Written by bassist Mike Dirnt about a friend who committed suicide in a car crash, the song was a previously unreleased track from the Dookie sessions but it was later featured on the soundtrack to the movie Angus in 1995. In August 1995, the song reached number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart and spent 16 weeks on it. The song peaked at number 22 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song was featured as the eighth track on Green Day's 2001 greatest hits collection International Superhits!, on their 2011 live album Awesome as Fuck, and on the 30th anniversary reissue of Dookie alongside a cassette demo of the song.
Background
The acronym stands for Jason Andrew Relva, a childhood friend of Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt. Relva was born on November 16, 1972, and died at the age of 19 on April 18, 1992, as the result of injuries sustained from a car crash. Dirnt wrote the song in remembrance of him. Relva is thanked in the liner notes of 1,039/Smoothed Out Slappy Hours and Kerplunk.
Reception
PopMatters listed "J.A.R." as the ninth best Green Day song, commenting "It's a winner in its own right, and in a sense, its bubbling bass, buzzing chord crashes, and Tre Cool's killer chorus drum beat is the Platonic ideal of a Green Day song."
Both Mark Hoppus of Blink-182 and Chris DeMakes of Less Than Jake rated "J.A.R." as their favorite Green Day song. Hoppus stated that the opening guitar riff of the Blink-182 song "What's My Age Again?" was created by him trying and failing to play the opening bass riff of "J.A.R." on his guitar.
Track listing
| headline = Promo | title1 = J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) | length1 = 2:51
Vinyl box set | headline = Side A | title1 = J.A.R. (Jason Andrew Relva) | length1 = 2:51
| headline = Side B | title1 = Emenius Sleepus | length1 = 1:44
Charts
Weekly charts
::data[format=table title="Weekly chart performance for "J.A.R.""] | Chart (1995) | Peak position | |---|---| ::
Year-end charts
::data[format=table title="Year-end chart performance for "J.A.R.""]
| Chart (1995) | Position | US Modern Rock Tracks (Billboard) |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | ||
| :: |
References
References
- Burt, Greg. (July 28, 1995). "Rock: New Singles For August". [[Radio & Records.
- (July 30, 1995). "Green Day's 'J.A.R.' Unsealed". [[San Francisco Chronicle]].
- (April 16, 2011). "Green Day: Awesome as Fuck". Sputnikmusic.
- (2015). "About - "J.A.R.' - Green Day".
- Carter, Emily. (April 27, 2020). "10 lesser known Green Day songs that everyone needs to hear".
- Ramirez, AJ. (September 19, 2012). "Nice Guys Finish Last: The Top 15 Green Day Songs". PopMatters.
- DeMakes, Chris. (October 19, 2020). "Chris DeMakes a Podcast. Ep. 21: Mark Hoppus discusses blink-182's "What's My Age Again?"". [[Spotify]].
- Carter, Emily. (October 20, 2020). "Mark Hoppus Reveals The Green Day Song That Inspired The Opening Riff To blink-182's What's My Age Again?".
- Aniftos, Rania. (October 20, 2020). "Blink-182's Mark Hoppus Reveals the Green Day Song That Inspired 'What's My Age Again?'".
- (December 23, 1995). "The Year in Music: Hot Modern Rock Tracks".
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