Foo Fighters Top 10 Songs
When Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain committed suicide, which also ended the band, bassist Krist Novoselic handled the remembrances. That left drummer Dave Grohl with little to do but wander around in shock.
Soon though Grohl locked himself away and recorded the entire Foo Fighters’ debut (except for one guitar track contributed by Afghan Wig Greg Dulli). But Grohl wanted a group, 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.”
10. This Is A Call (Foo Fighters, 1995)
In the months following the death of Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, Grohl married his long-time girlfriend Jennifer Youngblood and wrote the song while on his honeymoon. “In that summer of 1994 I’d travelled a lot; I think I wrote ‘This Is A Call’ in Ireland. When I got back I booked five days in a recording studio, which seemed like an eternity, and I did the whole first Foo Fighters album in five days.”
This Is A Call
9. Big Me (The Colour And The Shape, 1997)
The video features a Mentos-like product called Footos. In concert during “Big Me” fans would throw Mentos (mints with a hard exterior) at the band. “We did stop playing that song for a while because, honestly, it’s like being stoned,” relayed Grohl. “Those little … things are like pebbles – they hurt.” “Big Me” only returned to the Foos setlist after Weezer started performing the song during the Foozer tour the bands did together.
Big Me
8. Best Of You (In Your Honor, 2005)
The song the was written following Grohl’s appearances on John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign trail and, according to the frontman, is “about breaking away from the things that confine you”
“Most people think it’s a love song but it’s meant to be more universal, which I think is one of the reasons so many people sing along when we play it,” added Grohl.
Best Of You
7. Learn To Fly (There Is Nothing Left To Lose, 1999)
The song was the Foo Fighters first appearance on the Billboard Hot 100 and went to #1 on Alternative Airplay and #2 on Mainstream Rock.
The accompanying music video, with band members and actor Jack Black, won Best Short Form Video award at the 43rd Grammy Awards in 2001.
Learn To Fly
6. Times Like These (One By One, 2002)
The lyrics relate to a time when Grohl “wasn’t entirely myself” during the band’s hiatus following the tense and unsatisfying first recording sessions for “One By One.”
“I think actually that this is the best song I’ve ever written – it’s very emotive and passionate and universal,” Grohl stated.
Times Like These
5. The Pretender (Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace, 2007)
“We didn’t go into making the record (Echoes, Silence, Patience And Grace”) with that song and it happened after we recorded a lot of stuff,” Grohl told XFM. “Up until that point, I didn’t know if we had a good opening song or not. So after we recorded it, I thought, “oh this is perfect, we have the song to open the record,” and it just became everybody’s favorite song. … It’s the type of song that I look forward to opening shows with and it came together really easily…”
Grohl later admitted the song was subconsciously inspired by the Sesame Street song “One of These Things is Not Like the Other.” “That’s what happens when you start having kids.”
The Pretender
4. Monkey Wrench (The Colour And The Shape, 1997)
The lyrics were inspired by the disintegration of Grohl’s four-year marriage to Jennifer Youngblood “(The song) is about realizing that you are the source of all of the problems in a relationship and you love the other person so much, you want to free them of the problem, which is actually yourself.”
Speaking of a ‘monkey wrench’ Grohl felt that drummer William Goldsmith wasn’t quite cutting it. He wound up playing the drum parts himself, and as a result Goldsmith left the band.
Monkey Wrench
3. All My Life (One By One, 2002)
Recording the song was problematic. “The difference between ‘All My Life’ (unreleased studio version) and ‘All My Life’ (released version) was that this one (studio version) cost a million dollars and sounded like crap, (while) this one (released version) we did in my basement for half an hour and became the biggest fucking song the band ever had,” Grohl noted.
All My Life
2. My Hero (The Colour And The Shape, 1997) 11
Grohl described the song as a tribute to “ordinary heroes.” So the band’s disappointment is understandable when, eleven years later, Republican presidential candidate John McCain’s campaign used the song at rallies without their permission.
“It’s frustrating and infuriating that someone who claims to speak for the American people would repeatedly show such little respect for creativity and intellectual property,” Grohl explained. “The saddest thing about this is that ‘My Hero’ was written as a celebration of the common man and his extraordinary potential. To have it appropriated without our knowledge and used in a manner that perverts the original sentiment of the lyric just tarnishes the song.”
My Hero
1. Everlong (The Coulor And The Shape, 1997)
“That song’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonize perfectly,” enthused Grohl.
“Everlong” was the last song performed live by drummer Taylor Hawkins before his death in March 2022.
Everlong
Foo Fighters:
Dave Grohl – Lead Vocals/Guitar
Pat Smear – Guitar
Chris Shiflett – Guitar/Backing Vocals
Nate Mendel – Bass
Rami Jaffe – Keyboards
Former Members
Franz Stahl – Guitar/Backing Vocals (1997–1999)
William Goldsmith (1995–1997), Taylor Hawkins (1997–2022) & Josh Freese (2023–2025) – Drums
