ABC/Randy Holmes
That’s right, Dave Grohl hits the half-century mark today. The prolific musician, often referred to as the “Nicest Guy in Rock,” was born January 14, 1969, in Warren, Ohio.
Grohl grew up in Springfield, Virginia, where his family moved when he was a child. Grohl soon became interested in music, and was drawn to the Washington, D.C., punk scene. At age 17, he joined the hardcore band Scream as the drummer.
Through mutual friend Buzz Osborne of the Melvins, Grohl was introduced to Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic of Nirvana, who were looking for a new drummer. Grohl then officially joined the band as they were recording what would become their breakout album, 1991’s Nevermind.
After Nevermind made Nirvana global superstars, the trio began recording their third and final album, In Utero. Meanwhile, Grohl also started writing some of his own songs.
After Cobain died in 1994, Grohl was faced with a variety of offers, including an invitation to play drums for one of his favorite bands, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Instead, he decided to pursue a solo career, which led to the creation of Foo Fighters. He released Foo Fighters’ self-titled debut — which we wrote and recorded all by himself — in 1995.
Eventually, Foo Fighters morphed from a solo project into a full-fledged band. They’ve released a total of nine studio albums — the most recent of which is 2017’s Concrete and Gold — and have remained one of the most popular and enduring rock bands of the last 25 years.
Grohl has also made music as a member of various side projects, including Probot and Them Crooked Vultures, which also featured Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme and Led Zeppelin‘s John Paul Jones.
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