THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

292-Foo Fighters-Everlong.

1997-Number 18 single.

Best Bit-At 1.29. David Grohl (see also best songs 999-788 and 9) is down on record as saying that one of his musical influences was the Scottish boy band ‘The Bay City Rollers.’ I honestly don’t know if he is pulling our legs or not.

David Eric Grohl was born on January 14th, 1969, in Warren, Ohio, United States. At the age of 13 he attended his first concert, where he was totally converted to ‘Punk Rock’ music, after seeing the American Punk band ‘Naked Raygun’ play live. While in high school he played guitar in several local bands, but switched to percussion, after teaching himself to play the drums. Grohl has said that he learned to play the drums by listening to the Canadian Rock band ‘Rush,’ of whom he names ‘Rush’ drummer Neil Pearl (1952-2020) as an early influence. He has also stated that Led Zeppelin (see also best songs 135 and 66) drummer John Bonham (1948-1980) is his greatest influence, and has Bonham’s ‘three-rings symbol’ tattooed on his right shoulder.

It was in 1990 that Dave Grohl was mutually introduced to Kurt Cobain, (1967-1994) and Krist Novoselic, of the ‘Grunge Rock’ group Nirvana, (see also best songs 788 and 9) Grohl has recalled, ‘I remember being in the same room with them and thinking, ‘What? That’s Nirvana? Are you kidding?’ Because on their record cover they looked like psycho lumberjacks. I was like, ‘What, that little dude and that big motherf#cker? You’re kidding me.’ Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic were looking for a drummer and Grohl soon joined them. It was during his four year tenure with Nirvana that Grohl wrote the songs that would eventually become the Foo Fighters debut self titled studio Album, Grohl has said that he was in awe of Kurt Cobain’s songwriting and felt that the songs that he had written were not suitable to the sound that Nirvana were recording, which is why he didn’t record and release them until after the demise of Nirvana.

Post Nirvana, David Grohl went into the studio and recorded a 15 track demo, on which he played every instrument, with the exception of a single guitar part on the song ‘X-Static,’ which was played by Greg Dulli of the American Rock band ‘Afghan Whigs.’ After passing the demo around a bidding war began, with Grohl signing to ‘Capitol Records’. Grohl did not wish to be known as a solo artist so recruited three band members, but the debut studio Album called ‘Foo Fighters’ from 1995, only featured the playing on it of Grohl. David Grohl chose the bands name from the UFO’s, and various aerial phenomena that were reported by Allied aircraft pilots in World War II. In total there have been nine different official members of the Foo Fighters come and go since their forming in 1994, and at the time of writing they remain active.

The discography of the Foo Fighters includes 11 studio Albums released between 1995-2023, and 57 singles released within the same time period, there are also 14 extended plays, (EP’s) four official compilation Albums, and one live Album available. In America on the Billboard 200 Album chart all of their studio Albums have reached the top 40, with ‘Wasting Light,’ (2007) and ‘Concrete and Gold,’ (2017) both making the Number 1 position, while three of their singles have reached the Billboard Hot 100, with ‘Best of You’ peaking the highest at Number 18 in 2005. ‘Everlong’ failed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, but several of their singles have charted on the Billboard Alternative Airplay chart, and the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. In the UK all of the Foo Fighters studio Albums have reached the top 10, with six of them making the Number 1 position, while they have had 20 top 40 hit singles, with ‘Best of You’ peaking the highest at Number 4.

‘Everlong’ was the second of three singles released from the Foo Fighters second studio Album ‘The Colour and the Shape,’ (see also best songs 999) from May 1997, the song was written by Dave Grohl, and produced by Gil Norton (see also best songs 904 and 490.) ‘Everlong’ was written soon after the breakup of Grohl’s first marriage to Jennifer Youngblood. He wrote the lyrics after falling for Louise Post of the American Alternative Rock band Veruca Salt, she can be heard singing backing vocals on the track. Grohl wanted Louise Post to sing the ‘doo-doos,’ which were inspired by Veruca Salt’s 1996 track ‘Shimmer Like A Girl,’ As Post was in Chicago at the time, her vocals were done through two different telephone lines in the studio calling her, one connected as her monitor, the other for recording. Louise Post has said, ”I sang these back-ups over the phone at 2.0 a.m, after being woken up from a deep sleep in Chicago by DG who was tracking the vocals for ‘Everlong’ in L.A. He wanted me to sing the doo-doo’s. While I was at it, I wrote a harmony for the chorus and sang that too.’

On the songs meaning David Grohl has said, ‘It’s about a girl that I’d fallen in love with, and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonise perfectly.’

‘And I wonder when I sing along with you, if everything could ever feel this real forever. If anything could ever be this good again. The only thing I’ll ever ask of you, you’ve got to promise not to stop when I say when.’