Foo Fighter: A World War II term used to refer to mysterious aerial phenomena.
Following Kurt Cobain’s death and the demise of Nirvana, the band’s drummer David Grohl, a multi-talented musician, locked himself away as he recorded the Foo Fighters’ debut.
But Grohl wanted a band, especially for touring. Bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith joined. Guitarist Pat Smear who toured with Nirvana also got the call.
This edition hit the road as “This Is A Call” blasted across the airwaves along with the retro-sounding “Big Me.”
A group effort, “The Colour & The Shape” followed. But the tracks from the initial sessions were tossed and re-recorded. Goldsmith decided to move on. Grohl ended up playing drums on the album with Taylor Hawkins joining for the tour and beyond.
’99 saw the release of “There’s Nothing Left To Lose,” which was recorded in Grohl’s basement studio in his Virginia home.
From the “One By One” album, “All My Life” won the Grammy for the Best Hard Rock Performance.
Three years later, ’05, the group released the double set “In Your Honor.” One disc was Rock and the other acoustic.
Then came “Skin & Bones,” recorded at the Pantages Theater in Hollywood, it was the band’s first live album. It featured “A” material, including “My Hero” and “Big Me,” as well as lesser-known tracks, such as the Nirvana B-side “Marigold.”
“The album… sounds like a Foo Fighters album, but it’s definitely moving in a few different directions,” Grohl said of “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.” “It’s cool man, I love it.”
The set also resonated with Grammy voters. The album won the Rock Album award at the ’08 ceremony while “The Pretender” earned the Hard Rock Performance award.
As work began on the Foo Fighter’s seventh studio album, “Wasting Light,” Smear, who left in ’97, was reinstalled as an official member – after being part of the touring line-up since ‘06. Of course, no one bothered to notify the band’s current guitarist, Chris Shifflett. He initially found the situation “difficult.” But it was quickly resolved.
The return of Smear was not the only blast from the past. Nirvana producer Butch Vig was recruited for the Foo Fighter’s seventh album.
“I want the record to sound rawer and somewhat imperfect,” Grohl told Vig. “As good as we play, that’s how good the record will sound.”
A month before “Wasting Light” came out the Foo Fighters played two shows that raised over $1 million for victims of the Australian floods and New Zealand earthquakes.
“Wasting Light” went to #1 on the U.K.’s Album Chart. It was the Foo Fighters third U.K. chart topper. The other two were ‘02’s “One By One” and ‘07’s “Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.”
“Sonic Highways” was recorded in eight cities (Austin, Chicago, Los Angeles, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Seattle, and Washington, D.C.) which led to the title.
The film/album featured guest performances by Ben Gibbard of Death Cab for Cutie, The Eagles’ Joe Walsh, Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielsen.
Foo Fighters probably were Gothenburg, Sweden’s favorite band after Grohl fractured his leg when he miscalculated a jump and fell into the security pit. Everybody thought the show was over. But no. Hawkins led the group through a series of covers while Grohl was taken to a hospital. Patched up, Grohl returned and finished the show.
However, subsequent concerts were canceled.
However, they did celebrate their 20th anniversary with an Independence Day concert in the nation’s capital. Grohl performed seated on a ‘throne’ supporting his injured leg. It was the group’s first show since the accident.
Prior to “Concrete And Gold” the Foo Fighters released “Run” which topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart. Following the set’s arrival a second single, “The Sky Is A Neighborhood,” also went to #1 on Mainstream Rock.
Though “Medicine At Midnight” was completed in ’20 the album didn’t drop until a year later due to the pandemic. That same year, the band was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Just when everything seemed to be going smoothly, tragedy hit. Hawkins passed away while the Foo Fighters were touring South America. Various substances were found during the autopsy.
Months later, the Foo Fighters held two star-studded Hawkins’ tribute concerts – in London and L.A.
The Foo Fighters 11th studio album, “But Here We Are” containing “Rescued” and “Under You,” both #1s on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart and was co-produced by the band and Greg Kurstin. It was the band’s first studio effort since Hawkins passing.
Grohl called Hawkins “my brother from another mother.” Grohl played drums on the album.
In a press release, the band wrote the set was “a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything the Foo Fighters have endured over the last year… the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.”
Following the devasting L.A. County wildfires in ’25 Grohl spent his 56th birthday cooking chili for fire victims and first responders. Grohl, and the rest of the band did what they could to combat food insecurity.
As part of that initiative Foo Fighters released a live EP “Are Playing Where??? Vol.1″ available exclusively on Bandcamp.
Recorded during September ‘25 club gigs, proceeds went to charities working to combat food insecurity in the cities where the shows took place (San Luis Obispo and Santa Ana, CA, Washington, D.C., and New Haven, CT).
Dave Grohl Stirring The Pot
Asking For A Friend
As ’25 wound down, the Foos released “Asking For A Friend” in conjunction with the announcement of a summer stadium tour.
According to Grohl the song was about “those who have waited patiently in the cold, relying on hope and faith for their horizon to appear.”
It stuck a chord. “Asking For A Friend” became the band’s 15th #1 on Mainstream Rock – their first #1 since “The Glass,” which reached the top in April, ’24.
“Asking For A Friend,” was followed by the title track from the band’s 12th full-length studio album, “Your Favorite Toy.”
“‘Your Favorite Toy‘ really was the key that unlocked the tone and energetic direction of the new album,” explained Grohl. “We stumbled upon it after experimenting with different sounds and dynamics for over a year, and the day it took shape I knew that we had to follow its lead.”
The 10-song set also included the album’s third single. “Caught In The Echo.”
Select Foo Fighters Tracks:
Your Favorite Toy
Caught In The Echo
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