Happy Birthday Dave Grohl: Foo Fighters Live At Rock In Rio 2019

Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl celebrates his birthday today. The legendary multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter was born on January 14, 1969 in Warren, Ohio.

A key figure in rock’s more recent history, Grohl joined Nirvana as a drummer in 1991 and helped the band record their groundbreaking 1991 album, Nevermind, Nirvana’s second LP and the first to feature Grohl behind the kit. Grohl has cited Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham and Rush’s Neil Peart as major influences on his drumming. After the tragic death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain in 1994, Grohl was naturally depressed after losing his friend but soon mustered the strength in a difficult time to forge ahead with a new band, Foo Fighters.

In the beginning, Foo Fighters was less of a band than a one-man project, with Grohl booking studio time and recording a fifteen song demo entirely himself. The recordings would eventually become Foo Fighters’ 1995 self-titled debut album released through Roswell and Capitol Records. Grohl also began rounding out an official Foo Fighters lineup, tapping bassist Nate Mendel, Nirvana touring guitarist Pat Smear and later drummer Taylor Hawkins and guitarist Chris Shiflett (keyboardist Rami Jaffee joined the band as a touring member in 2005). Having a fully formed group allowed Grohl to step out from behind the kit and step into the frontman role himself. The band released The Colour And The Shape in 1997, which contains some of Foo Fighters’ most well-known songs like “My Hero,” “Monkey Wrench,” and “Everlong.” In 1999, Grohl and company would follow up with another landmark album, There Is Nothing Left To Lose, which garnered the group their first Grammy Award.

Foo Fighters would go on to become a marquee name, with Grohl at the helm. But the musician also took on another role as the band got bigger and bigger. Dave is one of rock’s greatest ambassadors. He uses his immense influence as a platform to share music with a younger generation — often bringing young players up on stage — and to generally do good in the world.

Grohl’s incredibly engaging nature is on full display during Foo Fighters’ September 29 performance at the 2019 Rock In Rio festival held in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. The set kicks off with “The Pretender” and features classics like “Learn To Fly,” “Monkey Wrench” and My Hero” among others. The performance also features a cover of the Queen/David Bowie collaboration “Under Pressure” with Grohl on drums followed by a snippet of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Foo Fighters closed out the festival play with “Everlong.”

To celebrate Dave Grohl’s birthday, watch Foo Fighters entire performance at Rock In Rio 2019 below via the JamBase Live Video Archive: