The Foo Fighters song Dave Grohl will always regret: “It doesn’t really count”
The beauty of music is its diversity. With a change of rhythm or an alteration of sound, you can travel to different corners of the world. You can explore various emotions, historical moments, and concepts throughout music. It’s truly astonishing how much range there is within music, and yet, most of your favourite artists will all have one thing in common: An adoration for The Beatles.
Most famous artists will have a story about the first time they heard The Beatles. Ozzy Osbourne famously said that when they rose to fame, it was like going to bed in a black-and-white world and waking up to a world filled with colour. Similarly, Bruce Springsteen said that when he first heard the song ‘I Wanna Hold Your Hand’, he made his Mum stop the car so he could run to a phone booth and tell his girlfriend to listen.
Every artist tends to have a story surrounding the first time that they listened to The Beatles, and these stories play a big part in inspiring them and driving them to make music in the first place. Dave Grohl is no different. Despite being in one of the biggest bands ever to oppose the mainstream, even he couldn’t resist his love of The Fab Four.
He was such a big fan that when he eventually met Paul McCartney, he was so stunned that he struggled to compose himself. “I noticed Paul McCartney out of the corner of my eye, chatting away with friends, and I couldn’t help but stare. There. He. Was,” said Grohl, “I don’t know what it feels like to see a UFO. I don’t know what it feels like to see a ghost. I don’t know what it feels like to see Bigfoot, but I know what it feels like to see Paul McCartney, and if that’s not a supernatural event, then I don’t know what is.”
While Grohl was a huge fan of every member of The Beatles, his favourite was George Harrison. While Grohl might have started his musical career as a drummer, he is more recognisable as a guitarist in the modern day, and his favourite member of The Beatles was George Harrison, who was famed for being an outstanding guitar player. There are a number of songs where this is clear, but one of Grohl’s favourites is ‘Something’. “It’s such a beautiful solo,” he said, discussing Harrison’s contribution to the song, “Melodically, it’s safe to say that it’s one of the most classic guitar solos of all time. Such a beautiful song.”
As an ode to George Harrison, when Grohl first started playing guitar in his band, the Foo Fighters frontman wanted to include an ode to the guitarist who inspired him so much. This meant playing a solo that was in some way reminiscent to Harrison. While his inspiration behind the song was sweet, Grohl wasn’t happy with how it came out, as he didn’t feel as though he interpreted Harrison’s playing well enough.
The track ‘Oh, George’, is one of his least favourite songs by the Foo Fighters as a result. “On the first Foo Fighters record, there is a song entitled ‘Oh, George’. I basically wanted the guitar solo to sound like something he would do,” said Grohl. He has admitted since that this is one of his least favourite songs, although he also said that he wrote it so quickly that “It doesn’t really count.”
