Foo Fighters

Former Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl formed Foo Fighters after the death of Kurt Cobain in 1994. Since he'd been considering the possibility of a solo career while still with Nirvana, Grohl already had a backlog of songs he'd recorded on his own and on which he played every instrument himself. He formed a band with bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith, both formerly of Sunny Day Real Estate, and Pat Smear, a former Nirvana guitarist. The name Foo Fighters came from a secret WWII force that researched UFOs. The Fighters laid down Grohl's songs and had a hit record that blared melodic, hard rock gems like "This is a Call" and "Big Me." Since the debut in '95, Goldsmith and Smear have both left, and Grohl keeps cranking out no-brainers that keep the Foo Fighters very much afloat.