The musician Dave Grohl called “the nicest in the world”
Dave Grohl tended to take rock and roll a lot more seriously than the average fan.
He wasn’t exactly in Bono’s territory when he started to look at music like a religion, but he did feel a certain sense of spiritual uplift whenever he heard one of Led Zeppelin’s records and felt seen when he turned on the radio and played along with The Beatles. These were artists who actually seemed to understand everything that he wanted out of life, but no one is ever prepared for when they meet someone like that in the flesh for the first time.
Because, really, how often does one get to see the greatest artists of all time practice their craft? No one got to see what was going through Beethoven’s mind when he was writing his symphonies, and Picasso wasn’t filming himself every single time he painted, but Grohl was getting to see a bunch of his heroes approach rock and roll in a totally different way once he became friendly with them.
Getting half of Led Zeppelin to come onstage with him was one thing, but getting to actually make music with John Paul Jones was a whole separate ballgame. Here was half of one of the greatest rhythm sections in rock and roll, and since Grohl had studied the licks of John Bonham, he was going to do everything he could to impress his idol when working with Them Crooked Vultures.
If Zeppelin was on one side of the musical spectrum, though, Queen occupied a much different place in Grohl’s mind. Sure, Queen have written some great songs over the years, but it was about more than their music half the time Grohl talked about them. They were the models that he wanted to follow for the rest of his life when he saw them perform at Live Aid or listened to Live Killers for the first time, so imagine his surprise when he actually saw what Brian May was like in one person.
Any other band of Queen’s stature would have been too big to even touch, but May has always been one of rock’s greatest diplomats. Throughout every facet of their career, he could always take the dignified approach whenever he faced the paparazzi, and even if he wasn’t in it for the glory, standing next to Freddie Mercury would make anyone else look like a god of rock by extension.
But aside from having some of the best riffs in the business, Grohl felt that May’s greatest impact on his life was being a role model for how any great musician is supposed to act, saying, “Brian May is one of the sweetest men you’ve ever met in your life. Probably the biggest life inspiration because he’s a great musician who’s inspired millions of people, but to know him as a friend inspires you to just be a better person. That guy is like the Pope. He’s the nicest person in the world.”
That might go without saying for anyone else, but you’d be hard-pressed to find too many people who are like that in the music industry. No one gets into the business to make friends, and while a lot of people often opt out when they know what they’re getting into, May is one of the few who is able to play the game of rock and roll and still manage to be one of the most approachable people in the industry.
Yes, he may have created some of the all-time anthems of rock and roll, and ‘We Will Rock You’ will still be playing until the end of time, but the one thing he should be remembered for above anything else is the humility behind his music. Grohl might have the reputation of being one of the most unassuming men in rock, but the reason why he’s so down-to-Earth is because of what he learned from May.
