The band were recognized as part of the Class of 2021 alongside fellow honorees in the performer category Tina Turner, Todd Rundgren, The Go-Go’s, Carole King, Jay-Z; Musical Excellence award winners Randy Rhoads, Billy Preston and LL Cool J; Early Influence honorees Kraftwerk, Gil Scott Heron and Charley Pattonl; and, Ahmet Ertegun Award winner Sussex Records founder Clarence Avant.
McCartney took center stage to welcome Foo Fighters to the Rock Hall with an induction speech that, as Rolling Stone notes, outlined the common history that he and longtime friend Dave Grohl shared through first, their fandom of rock and roll, and second, their careers as recording and touring musicians.
“OK, so me, a teenage kid in Liverpool, just an ordinary kid going to school like everybody else; and then one day, I heard some music and I fell into rock & roll,” explained McCartney. “So when that happened … I joined a group; my group was the Beatles. … Dave did a similar kind of thing; he joined a group, Nirvana.
“We had a great time with our groups, but eventually tragedy happened and my group broke up. Same happened with Dave. His group broke up under tragic circumstances. So the question is, what do you do now? We both were presented with that question. In my case, I said, ‘Well, I’ll make an album where I play all the instruments myself.’ So I did that. Dave’s group broke up, what’s he do? He makes an album where he plays all the instruments himself. Do you think this guy’s stalking me?
“Anyway, so me, I’m gonna name my new group, and I call them Wings,” he continued. “So Dave’s got the same problem, and he’s got to think of a name for the group, so he comes up with “Foo Fighters.”
The two rockers now also share another milestone: with Grohl’s original 2014 entry as a member of Nirvana ahead of the 2021 honor, both have now been recognized as two-time inductees into the Rock Hall (McCartney previously entered as a member of The Beatles and as a solo artist).
After a short video history of the band, the Grohl-led outfit performed a three-song mini-set that included their 2005 hit, “Best Of You”, 1997’s “My Hero” and the fan favorite, “Everlong.”
Each member of the Foo Fighters the delivered a brief speech thanking various parties for their support – including each other – before closing out the evening with McCartney joining them for a version of The Beatles classic, “Get Back.”
The 2021 Ceremony will on November 20 on HBO and stream on HBO Max alongside a radio simulcast on SiriusXM Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Radio (310) and Volume (106).
See also:
Paul McCartney to induct Foo Fighters into Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame
Nirvana expand Nevermind for 30th anniversary reissues
Dave Grohl announces The Storyteller Live And In Person Book Tour
Dave Grohl previews new memoir The Storyteller
Search Foo Fighters at hennemusic
Search Nirvana at hennemusic
