Dave Grohl Reveals Who He Wants To Induct Foo Fighters Into the Rock Hall
Dave Grohl didn't mess around when asked who he'd like to induct Foo Fighters into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, should the band be selected for the honor out of this year's nominees.
Fittingly, it's someone who was behind an album that first inspired Grohl to "start the band Foo Fighters and call it Foo Fighters and do the whole thing." That's what the Foos frontman and former Nirvana drummer shared on The Howard Stern Show on Wednesday (Feb. 10), the very day the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation announced its batch of nominees eligible for 2021 induction.
Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.
Quizzed by Stern about the prospective speech for a Foo Fighters Rock Hall induction, Grohl explained his choice with a walk down memory lane. Amid the recollection, the musician clued listeners in on the rocker who stimulated some of Grohl's early decisions that led to the group's 1995 debut album.
"To be honest," Grohl said, "this band started with this demo tape that I did ages ago. … I went to the studio for five days, I played all the instruments, I recorded 13 or 14 songs just for fun, I made cassettes. And I called it Foo Fighters because I didn't really want everyone to know it was me."
He continued, "One of the reasons why I did that is because when I was young, someone gave me a record by an artist named Klark Kent. It was this kinda weird, like, fringe thing — 'Klark Kent? Who's Klark Kent?' It sounded a lot like The Police … because it was actually Stewart Copeland. The drummer of the Police made this record under the name Klark Kent; he didn't put his name on the record. … You were like, 'Wow, who's Klark Kent? This is kinda rad.' And then someone's like, [whispers] 'That's Stewart Copeland.'"
To that, Grohl added that he'd "think Stew would be a great guy to induct the band. And, I mean, if you've ever hung out with Stewart Copeland, like, he can make a fuckin' speech. The guy can talk."
But Grohl did stress that the pick is "unofficial," saying Foo Fighters "haven't [yet] had this discussion."
Copeland's Klark Kent was the Police member's first solo album, released under the Superman-derived pseudonym in 1980. On release, the record's cover and packaging indeed gave no mention it was Copeland. Still, plenty at the time were well aware that the drummer was behind it.
Not every Foo Fighter agrees with Dave's Rock Hall choice, however. After Stern petitioned Grohl's bandmates to chime in with their own answers, guitarist Pat Smear offered his pick.
"Dave's mom," Smear said.
When Foo Fighters were nominated for induction this week, they shared the merit with fellow 2021 nominees Mary J. Blige, Kate Bush, Devo, the Go-Go's, Iron Maiden, Jay-Z, Chaka Khan, Carole King, Fela Kuti, LL Cool J, New York Dolls, Rage Against the Machine, Todd Rundgren, Tina Turner and Dionne Warwick. Fans can vote at rockhall.com, with the Rock Hall Fan Vote eventually being tallied alongside the decisions from an international voting body of artists, music historians and members of the music industry.
Foo Fighters' latest album, Medicine at Midnight — the act's 10th studio effort — is out now. Its Feb. 5 release was preceded by the singles "Waiting on War," "No Son of Mine" and "Shame Shame."
Who Should Induct Foo Fighters Into the Rock Hall of Fame?