Dave Grohl’s five favourite bands
It’s easy to single people out and put them in a specific genre when you’re discussing what you like about them, but Dave Grohl is a tricky person to pin down. He’s a rock artist, there’s no doubt about that, but when you think about all of the different bands he’s played in and the various styles he’s tapped into as a result, he becomes a hard person to single out into one specific genre of music.
He got his start in Nirvana, playing drums for one of the most successful grunge bands of all time. Even from this early stage, his versatility as an artist beamed through, as while he was playing heavy songs laced with distortion and energy, he was using old disco beats to bring the songs to life.
This versatility was even more necessary when he started making music for Foo Fighters. His role at this point became a lot more hands-on, as he wanted to continue making energetic rock music without coming across as a poor imitation of the band that made him famous. He succeeded with this, drawing from his preferences and those who inspired him to make varied rock music that continues to surprise fans today.
No matter how hard you might find it to pin down Dave Grohl and his style of playing, his influences play such a huge part in the music he makes that it’s impossible to attach him to a label. So, who are his favourite bands?
Dave Grohl’s favourite bands of all time
Led Zeppelin
Like many lovers of rock music, Grohl was incredibly influenced by Led Zeppelin. Their approach to music and reluctance to stick to any specific genre were always incredibly exciting to listen to and constantly inspired fans worldwide. Grohl loved their music and was drawn to John Bonham’s playing style.
“You have no idea how much he influenced me,” he said. “I spent years in my bedroom — literally fucking years — listening to Bonham’s drums and trying to emulate his swing or his behind-the-beat swagger or his speed or power. Not just memorising what he did on those albums but getting myself into a place where I would have the same instinctual direction as he had.”
The Beatles
Many people have described The Beatles’ impact on music as going to bed in a black-and-white world, then waking up and finding it filled with colour. That’s incredibly high praise, but it is undoubtedly deserved, as The Beatles managed to take the music industry by storm and change how people saw it.
You can hear The Beatles in Grohl’s music and how much he champions the melody over everything else. “To me, that’s the most important part of a song,” he said. “And that comes from growing up with Beatles records and sitting down with a chord book, trying to understand why those harmonies do what they do and why the melody moves the way it does and why the composition and arrangement is like this.”
Hüsker Dü
While many of the artists on this list are classic musicians that many people cite as inspirations, Dave Grohl’s influences go a lot deeper than just the surface level. He admitted that he was a big fan of Hüsker Dü and spoke to him about how much he loved his music when he was younger.
“I’m a huge Husker Dü fan, and he’s a legend, an American hero,” said Grohl, “So I met him and said ‘I just have to thank you. I know you realise I’ve been ripping you off for 15 years, but I just have to say that you’ve influenced me so much, and I consider you a hero’. And he was really cool.”
Bad Brains
Dave Grohl isn’t just a studio musician; he’s notoriously one of the best live performers in the world. He seems to be constantly on tour, and when he’s not, he spends his time jamming with other legends on stage. He cites Bad Brains as one of the best live bands on the planet.
“Bad Brains were America’s greatest hardcore punk-rock band in the ’80s. They were from Washington, DC, and were the best live band I’ve ever seen in my life,” he said, “I was in love with their music – it was so fast, so distorted, so dissonant.”
Metallica
Finally, when speaking about good live bands, Dave Grohl has cited Metallica as the band he wants to perform with the most. Their approach to heavy metal is hard-hitting and exciting, which is something he has always looked for in the music he likes.
“I love Lars Ulrich. He’s always been a huge influence,” he said, “I bought the first Metallica record the month it came out. I am a die-hard fan, and you will have to pry their CDs from my cold dead hands.”
