Foo Fighters revisit their debut single during Jimmy Kimmel residency
Developing story first seen 4 hours ago
Foo Fighters performed “This Is a Call” on Tuesday during their week-long residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live, returning to the first single from their 1995 debut album. The performance brought the band’s early history into focus, including Dave Grohl’s decision to move on from being Nirvana’s drummer and become a lead singer.
Grohl wrote the debut record in 1994 as he sought a new direction, later describing fronting a band as frightening. The Kimmel residency began on Monday with “Window”, from the Foo Fighters’ 12th album, Your Favorite Toy, released earlier this year. That album followed 2023’s But Here We Are, their first since drummer Taylor Hawkins died.
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In short
- Foo Fighters played their 1995 first single on Kimmel.
- Grohl wrote the debut album after Nirvana.
- The band began its residency with a song from its latest album.
How this story developed
- 2 hours ago The later account added context that Grohl wrote the debut record in 1994 while seeking a new direction and found taking on lead vocals frightening.
- 3 hours ago Foo Fighters opened a week-long Jimmy Kimmel Live residency with “Window” and then performed “This Is a Call”, revisiting their 1995 debut single and Dave Grohl’s transition from Nirvana drummer to frontman.
Full account
Foo Fighters travelled back to their earliest days on Tuesday, performing “This Is a Call” during their week-long residency on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Released in 1995 as the first single from the band’s self-titled debut album, the song was written by Dave Grohl the previous year, as he began a new chapter after Nirvana.
Grohl has described the move from drummer to frontman as daunting. In a 2006 interview with Kerrang, he said he wanted to try something unfamiliar rather than remain associated with Nirvana after the band had ended. The performance retained the song’s forceful rock sound, building towards an extended instrumental passage.
One report highlights Grohl’s shifting from a roar to a shriek on the higher notes, as well as a closing jam and drum solo from Ilan Rubin. The other focuses on the song’s gradual build and its clap-along instrumental break. Both describe an energetic rendition, while drawing attention to different moments in it.
The appearance followed Monday’s performance of “Window”, a track from the band’s latest album, Your Favorite Toy. Grohl told Kimmel he had written it with a simple bass part in mind so his daughter Harper, who was learning the instrument, could join him. The album followed 2023’s But Here We Are, released after the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins. Grohl also said the band would perform its cover of “Baker Street” later in the week; the song had recently returned to their live set after 19 years.
Where outlets differ
From the full account, which is AI-written from the sources:
The first report places “This Is a Call” in the context of the band’s origins and Grohl’s transition from Nirvana, and also recaps the residency’s opening performance and the latest album. The second gives more detail about the Tuesday performance itself, including the vocal delivery, band members’ playing and Rubin’s drum solo, and mentions the planned “Baker Street” cover.
Explained simply
Foo Fighters began as a project by Dave Grohl after Nirvana ended in 1994. He had been Nirvana’s drummer, but wrote and recorded the first Foo Fighters album himself before forming a band and taking on lead vocals, a role he later said felt daunting.
The band’s first album came out in 1995, with “This Is a Call” as its lead single. Foo Fighters have continued recording and touring for decades, with Grohl remaining their frontman; their later work has also been shaped by the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022.
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Originally published by Rolling Stone as “Foo Fighters Go Back to the Start on ‘Kimmel’ With ‘This Is a Call’”.