Always imagined that the Rock and Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremonies are the stuff of hair-raising rockstar shenanigans? Well, you might just be right.
Following the news that the Foo Fighters are this year’s inductees, frontman Dave Grohl spoke to Rolling Stone about some of his most memorable times at the ceremony. Specifically, the time where he jammed with Joan Jett, and then smoked copious amounts of weed with her and Miley Cyrus in 2015.
“I just remember being there and going upstairs... the ceremonies can be painfully long,” Grohl says. “Fortunately, Joan Jett’s performance was at the top of the show. We performed and after a few hours, I went up to the dressing room to drink and wound up smoking a joint with Joan and Miley Cyrus.”
“I came back downstairs... and I rarely smoke weed. I remember looking over, staring at Jerry Lee Lewis and just being... I don’t even have the words to describe it. I was tripping fuckin’ balls.”
Now, tripping fuckin' balls is difficult at the best of times, but for Grohl, it was particularly bad timing as he was due on stage later that night. Grohl, he explains, did end up performing later in the ceremony, but did the whole thing while hiding behind one of the many stars on stage during the performance – who turned out to be Stevie Wonder, no less. Rock’n’roll, eh?
“At the end of the show, Ringo got an award," says Grohl. "A producer was running around looking for me to sing the finale of With A Little Help From My Friends. He ran up to me and was like, ‘Dave! Dave! You’ve gotta be onstage in the next two minutes! We’re doing the big finale’ I couldn’t imagine being onstage. I walked out there so high that I hid behind Stevie Wonder.”
The performance of the classic Beatles number marked the final performance of 2015’s ceremony, and saw a brigade of rock royalty take to the stage such as Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Green Day, Patti Smith, Tom Morello and more. At one point, you can even spot a dishevelled looking Joan Jett and Miley Cyrus make their way to the microphone. You can watch the whole performance below.
Grohl is keen to point out he won't be repeating the experience this year. ”I mean, it was a lot to take in," he says. "I won’t be doing that this year, that’s for goddamn sure.”
This year’s ceremony is set to take place October 30, and will feature Foo Fighters induction into the star-studded museum, alongside Jay-Z, The Go-Go's, Carole King, Todd Rundgren and Tina Turner.
