Strolling Down Memory Lane with Rock Band Foo Fighters
The American alternative rock band Foo Fighters came about from catastrophic circumstances. The suicide of the former Nirvana frontman, Kurt Cobain, in 1994 and the following dissolution of the band, drummer Dace Grohl spent his time developing the songs he’s he’d written for years. Grohl handled the instruments and the vocals himself to debut the Foo Fighters in 1995. The name of the band was used in reference to the World War II terminology for unidentified flying objects. The album contained the melodic rock songs of punk and hard rock, thus establishing the musical blueprint of the band.
Getting a band together, Grohl recruited former members of the Sunny Day Real Estate, an alternative rock group, drummer William Goldsmith and bassist Nate Mendel. He also recruited guitarist Pat Smear who performed with the Nirvana band during their final tour. The Foo Fighters become a full-pledged band, but the line-up has gone through changes. Currently, the band’s line-up consists of Dave Grohl on the lead vocal and guitar, Taylor Hawkins on the drums, Nate Mendel on the bass, Chris Shiflet on the guitar, and Pat Smear on guitar.
To date, the Foo Fighters discography consists of 7 studio albums, 3 extended plays or EPs, 4 video albums, and about 28 singles. In 1995, the band’s self-titled debut album reached No. 23 on the Billboard 200. The album was certified platinum in the U.S. Their first single on the album, ‘This is a Call’, peaked at the top ten both in Australia and the United Kingdom. ‘The Colour and the Shape’ which is their follow-up album was released in 1997. Their second album reached the number tenth spot on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum in Australia, Canada, and the US. The hit single from their second album ‘Everlong’, was certified gold in the US. Their third album, ‘There is Nothing to Lose’, released in 1999 earned another certified platinum for the band in the US, Canada, and Australia. The single from the album, ‘Learn to Fly’ became the band’s first single to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in the US. T
he fourth album of the Foo Fighters, ‘One by One’, released in 2002 was their first album to top the charts in Australia and the UK. Foo Fighters released their first video album, ‘Everywhere but Home’ in 2003 which features a live footage of their ‘One by One’ concert tour. In 2005, the band released their fifth album ‘In Your Honor’. ‘Best of You’, the fifth album’s first single, earned the band’s highest certifications for a single. It earned platinum in both the US and Canada, and was at the top five in the UK and Australia. The band’s sixth album ‘Echoes, Silence, Patience, & Grace’, released in 2007 hit the top of the charts in UK, Australia, Belgium, and Canada. The first track of the album, ‘The Pretender’, was a top ten hit in the UK, Australia, Portugal, Norway, and New Zealand, earned a platinum status in Canada, and gold in the US. ‘Wasting Light’ was the band’s latest album. Released in April 2011, it debuted to the number one spot in twelve countries. The first single of the album ‘Rope’, made a record of having the most consecutive weeks at No. 1 on the US Rock Songs chart. As of today, the Foo Fighters have already sold about 30 million albums worldwide, of which the 10.5 million was sold in the US. The Foo Fighters tickets are now available online.
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