List of Foo Fighters band members

The current lineup of Foo Fighters, from left to right: Chris Shiflett, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel. Not shown: Pat Smear.

Foo Fighters is an American alternative rock band formed by multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Dave Grohl in 1994. After recording the album Foo Fighters alone, Grohl enlisted guitarist Pat Smear, bassist Nate Mendel and drummer William Goldsmith to join the band. This lineup recorded the second Foo Fighters album, 1997's The Colour and the Shape, although most of Goldsmith's drum recordings were removed and re-recorded by Grohl for the release, after he left the band due to creative tensions. Goldsmith was replaced by Taylor Hawkins, and Franz Stahl replaced Smear after he also departed, although he only remained in the band for a short period and did not record an album with the group. The group's third album, There Is Nothing Left to Lose, featured Hawkins on drums and was released in 1999.

After the completion of There Is Nothing Left to Lose, Chris Shiflett was brought in as Stahl's replacement on guitar. With the core lineup of Grohl, Shiflett, Mendel and Hawkins, Foo Fighters recorded their fourth album, One by One, which was released in 2002 and was the first album by the band to reach the top three of the US Billboard 200 chart. The band's next release was a double album in the form of 2005's In Your Honor, which spawned the first single by the band to top both the US Alternative Songs and Mainstream Rock singles charts, "Best of You". In 2005, Pat Smear rejoined as a touring member of the band, in addition to keyboardist Rami Jaffee and percussionist Drew Hester, all of whom featured on the 2007 album Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace.

Smear rejoined as a full-time member in 2010, bringing the lineup of the band up to five members for the first time since its inception. In 2011 Foo Fighters released its seventh studio album, Wasting Light, which was their first to top the Billboard 200 chart, followed in 2014 by the band's eighth album Sonic Highways, which featured a wide range of guest musicians including Rick Nielsen, Gary Clark, Jr. and Joe Walsh.

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Dave Grohl	1994–present	vocals, guitars, drums, percussion, bass, keyboards, piano	all Foo Fighters releases
	Pat Smear	1994–1997, 2005–2010 (touring), 2010–present	rhythm and lead guitars	The Colour and the Shape (1997) and all Foo Fighters releases from Skin and Bones (2006) to present
	Nate Mendel	1994–present	bass	all Foo Fighters releases from The Colour and the Shape (1997) to present
	Taylor Hawkins	1997–present	drums, percussion, piano, backing and occasional lead vocals	all Foo Fighters releases from There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999) to present
	Chris Shiflett	1999–present	lead guitar, backing vocals	all Foo Fighters releases from One by One (2002) to present

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	William Goldsmith	1994–1997	drums	The Colour and the Shape (1997)
	Franz Stahl	1997–1999	guitar, backing vocals	"A320" (1998) and "Walking After You" (1998)

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Petra Haden	2005–2007	violin, mandolin, backing vocals	In Your Honor (2005) and Skin and Bones (2006)
	Rami Jaffee	2005–present	keyboards, piano, accordion, mellotron	all Foo Fighters releases from In Your Honor (2005) to present
	Drew Hester	2005–2010	percussion	all Foo Fighters releases from Skin and Bones (2006) to Sonic Highways (2014)
	Jessy Greene	2007–2010	violin, cello, double bass, backing vocals	Wasting Light (2011)

Timeline

Lineups

Lineup duration	Band members	Studio albums
October 1994	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar, bass, drums	Foo Fighters (1995)
October 1994–February 1997	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar Pat Smear – guitar Nate Mendel – bass William Goldsmith – drums	The Colour and the Shape (1997)
February 1997–May 1997	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar, drums Pat Smear – guitar Nate Mendel – bass	The Colour and the Shape (1997)
May 1997–September 1997	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar Pat Smear – guitar Nate Mendel – bass Taylor Hawkins – drums	none
September 1997–February 1999	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar Nate Mendel – bass Taylor Hawkins – drums Franz Stahl – guitar	none
February 1999–June 1999	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitars Nate Mendel – bass Taylor Hawkins – drums	There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999)
June 1999–September 2010	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar Nate Mendel – bass Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, backing vocals Chris Shiflett – guitar, backing vocals	One by One (2002) In Your Honor (2005) Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007)
September 2010–present	Dave Grohl – vocals, guitar Pat Smear – guitar Nate Mendel – bass Taylor Hawkins – drums, percussion, backing vocals Chris Shiflett – guitar, backing vocals	Wasting Light (2011) Sonic Highways (2014)