After the songs drew label interest, he recruited Mendel and Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, and Smear, who had played with Nirvana on tour.

Goldsmith quit during the recording of their second album, The Colour and the Shape (1997), with Grohl re-recording most of the drum parts, and Smear departed soon afterward; they were replaced by Hawkins and Stahl, respectively.

For the Foo Fighters' seventh studio album, Wasting Light (2011), produced by Butch Vig, Smear returned as a full-time member, after having appeared frequently with the band since 2005.

Concrete and Gold (2017) was the second Foo Fighters album to top the charts in the United States and the first to feature Jaffee, their longtime session and touring keyboardist, as a full member.

[12] Instead, Grohl recruited bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both of the recently disbanded Seattle emo group Sunny Day Real Estate.

[14] After touring through the spring of 1996, the Foo Fighters entered Bear Creek Studio in Woodinville, Washington, with producer Gil Norton to record its second album.

[17] Stahl toured with the Foo Fighters for the next few months and appeared on two tracks recorded for movie soundtracks, a re-recording of "Walking After You", also released as a single, for The X-Files and "A320" for Godzilla.

[29] The guitarist Brian May added a guitar track to the Foo Fighters' second cover of Pink Floyd's "Have a Cigar", which appeared on the soundtrack to the movie Mission: Impossible 2.

Members who had performed with them in late 2005 appeared, such as Pat Smear, Petra Haden on violin and backing vocals, Drew Hester on percussion, and Rami Jaffee of the Wallflowers on keyboard and piano.

While much of the setlist focused on In Your Honor's acoustic half, the band also used the opportunity to play lesser-known songs, such as "Ain't It The Life", "Floaty", and "See You".

In November 2006, the band released their first live CD, Skin and Bones, featuring fifteen performances captured over a three-night stint in Los Angeles.

The second single, "Long Road to Ruin", was released in December 2007, supported by a music video directed by longtime collaborator Jesse Peretz (formerly of the Lemonheads).

The band performed shows throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Asia, including headlining the Virgin Mobile Festival in Baltimore on August 9.

As Page and Jones left the stage before a final encore of "Best of You", an ecstatic Grohl shouted "Welcome to the greatest fucking day of my whole entire life!".

Three of these songs were later released — "Wheels" and "Word Forward" (on their 2009 compilation album, Greatest Hits); and a newly recorded version of "Rope" (which ended up making the final cut of Wasting Light).

They also headlined two sold-out shows at the Milton Keynes National Bowl on July 2 and 3, joined on stage by artists such as Alice Cooper, Seasick Steve, and John Paul Jones.

[55] Despite initially announcing a break after supporting Wasting Light, Grohl stated in January 2013 that the band had started writing material for an eighth studio album.

On October 31, a video appeared on the official Foo Fighters YouTube channel showing a motorcyclist, later revealed to be Erik Estrada, delivering each of the band members an invitation to play in Mexico.

[65] On July 30, Butch Vig revealed that the Foo Fighters had finished recording and mixing the album and that it was slated to be released a month after the premiere of the TV show.

[75] On May 20, 2015, the Foo Fighters were the final musical act to perform on Late Show with David Letterman, continuing their long association with the host as he wrapped up his 33-year career in late-night television.

[82] In July, one thousand Italian fans held the Rockin' 1000 gathering in Cesena, Italy, performing "Learn to Fly" and asking the Foo Fighters to come play in the town.

[84] The all-day event was to be held at Washington's RFK Stadium featuring performances by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, Heart, LL Cool J, Gary Clark Jr., and Buddy Guy.

[89][90] Prior to their August 21 concert at the Sprint Center in Kansas City, Missouri, the band rickrolled protesting members of the Westboro Baptist Church, as they had also done in 2011.

[91] On November 23, 2015, a surprise release following a month-long countdown clock on the Foo Fighters' website revealed the free EP Saint Cecilia, including a single of the same name.

[92] In response to growing rumors of a breakup, the Foo Fighters released a mockumentary video in March 2016 portraying Grohl leaving the band to pursue electronic music and Nick Lachey (formerly of 98 Degrees) becoming the group's new singer, ending with: "For the millionth time, we're not breaking up.

[122] Hawkins had suffered chest pain, and had ten substances in his system at the time of his death, including opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and THC, the psychoactive compound in cannabis.

[128] In September, the Foo Fighters performed tribute concerts to Hawkins at Wembley Stadium, London, and the Kia Forum, Los Angeles.

[3] In August 2024, the Foo Fighters announced that they would donate all royalties earned from their single "My Hero" to Kamala Harris' presidential campaign after her running opponent, Donald Trump, used the song without permission at a rally.

[134] In September 2024, after Grohl announced that he had fathered a child outside his marriage, the Foo Fighters canceled their headline performance at that month's Soundside Music Festival in Bridgeport, Connecticut.

The publication would also call Grohl and the band "excellent at being mainstream" and being "his generation's answer to Tom Petty—a consistent hit machine pumping out working-class rock.