Joel Madden was born Joel Rueben Combs on March 11, 1979, in Waldorf, Maryland, to Robin Marie Madden and Roger Paul Combs. His father left the family, so he changed his last name from "Combs" to his mother's maiden name. His mother raised Joel and his three siblings alone. Obviously that caused a lot of financial problems leading to the eviction from their home. He and his older twin brother, Benji Madden, went to a Beastie Boys concert and decided that they wanted to start a band. When they graduated in 1997, his mother gave him and Benji a pair of airline tickets to California to go to a club where all the good punk rock bands actually started. When they got back, they were more determined than ever. They teamed up with two school friends and Billy - and Good Charlotte was born.
