The guitarist who played like it was his “last day on Earth”, according to Dave Grohl

Dave Grohl might have made his first mark on the music industry as a rebellious young upstart at the heart of the grunge revolution, but his tastes were always a little more expansive than many of his punk peers. Namely, the self-professed rock aficionado has always maintained a deep-rooted appreciation for the landscape of classic rock. The arena-rock leanings of Foo Fighters certainly reflect that fact, but just in case you missed it, Grohl himself has dedicated a lot of interview time to discussing his adoration of classic rock over the years.

A true musical obsessive, Grohl has taken every possible opportunity presented to him to discuss his record collection and the various figures who first inspired him to follow his rock and roll dreams. Although the Foo Fighters frontman has heaped hero worship onto the likes of Little Richard or Ace Frehley, one figure that has always stood out to Grohl has been Led Zeppelin’s iconic guitarist, Jimmy Page. This probably shouldn’t be all that surprising; after all, Page’s pioneering hard rock tones changed the sound of rock and roll music forever.

By the time that Page came to form Led Zeppelin in 1968, he already boasted an unparalleled level of experience within the music industry. He spent the majority of the 1960s working as a sought-after session guitarist, allowing him to master the countless array of different musical styles and techniques. Coupled with his years in The Yardbirds towards the end of the decade, these experiences made Page a guitarist like no other.

Almost immediately after their formation, audiences resonated with Page’s otherworldly guitar stylings, and a young Dave Grohl was utterly entranced by the music of Led Zeppelin. Providing the future Nirvana drummer with some of his first experiences of rock and roll, the group were essential in his musical development, and he never lost his adoration for Page’s guitar playing. In fact, Grohl once paid Page the ultimate compliment, citing him as his “favourite soloist” to GQ.

Identifying the core appeal of Page’s enigmatic playing style, the frontman shared, “I love the way that he was always teetering on the edge of total chaos, but he knew how to place every note in a space that really drew emotion.” Never was this chaotic energy so clear as in the 1976 concert film The Song Remains the Same, filmed during Led Zeppelin’s run of shows at Madison Square Garden in 1973.

Although Grohl was only seven years old when the concert film first came out, it went on to have an incredible impact on his formative years. Speaking to Mojo about his own music documentary, What Drives Us, Grohl called the Led Zeppelin film, “A coming of age movie for me.” Recalling the pivotal moment he first saw the film, he shared, “My friends and I had just discovered drugs, and I remember watching it for the first time and seeing Jimmy Page play as if it were his last day on Earth.”

“He’s barely hanging on, but it’s so emotive,” Grohl continued, summarising the captivating genius of Page’s playing style. “It definitely made a huge impression on me,” he added, and not just because of Page’s guitar playing. “John Paul Jones’s hair – you can’t go wrong with that. Seeing Robert Plant’s balls pulled to one side on his jeans. It’s wonderful that they captured both of those moments.”

Viewing The Song Remains the Same was a life-changing experience for countless young rock obsessives, exposed to the revolutionary sounds of Zeppelin for the very first time. However, its impact on Grohl seems to have been greater than most, spurring the young music obsessive to master the art of playing guitar on the verge of chaos, which became an essential part of his Foo Fighters material decades later.