Dave Grohl: The story behind 'Everlong'

If you caught Dave Grohl performing an acoustic version of "Everlong" at Oates Song Fest 7908, then you've already heard the story behind the iconic Foo Fighters song. For the rest of us, that performance and the story are now up on YouTube, Instagram, and the band's social media in general.

According to Grohl, the most popular Foo Fighters song was born in a Seattle recording studio. It happened while he was waiting between takes, and it started off with a chord that sounded "like Sonic Youth."

Grohl then explained that he was going through a breakup at the time, and his intense emotions combined with the sound laid the groundwork for the song. The strange part was that he himself didn't initially grasp the musical potential of the track. As he repeatedly points out, he's not a trained musician, after all.

Not wanting to forget what he was working on, Grohl said he threw down a quick demo at a friend's studio and shared it with musician friends. Among them was Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth. He later recorded the full version of the track. He also revealed that he never thought of the song as an acoustic piece. When Howard Stern asked him to do it that way on his show, that's when "it gave the song a whole new life."

"I recorded the song and brought it back to the guys. I actually remember playing it for Thurston from Sonic Youth because I was scared I'd ripped off a Sonic Youth song.

I told them, 'Listen to this thing I just recorded, listen to this demo I just made.' He said, 'Why is this a demo? Why isn't this on the album?'

"It felt so familiar that I just took it for a little demo. So we went and re-recorded it, and that's the song you hear on the radio today."

Watch the full video below to see Grohl explain the complete origin of the song.