Few modern rock musicians have a career arc as remarkable as Dave Grohl’s. From pounding the drums in Nirvana during the grunge explosion to fronting Foo Fighters and steering them to stadium dominance, Grohl has managed to straddle underground credibility and global superstardom with rare authenticity. Along the way, he’s built a reputation as the “nicest man in rock” — generous with praise, gracious with peers, and almost childlike in his enthusiasm for music.
That enthusiasm extends deeply to The Beatles, a band Grohl has adored for as long as he can remember. Their songs, harmonies, and fearless experimentation didn’t just soundtrack his youth; they helped shape his entire creative DNA. So when the 50th anniversary of Abbey Road rolled around, Grohl was invited to reflect on his favourite Beatles songs — and to answer the impossible question: who’s your favourite Beatle?
For Grohl, the answer was surprisingly decisive. While John Lennon and Paul McCartney are the usual fan favourites, and Ringo Starr has his own cult of admirers, Grohl’s pick was the so-called “Quiet Beatle” — George Harrison.
“I connected to George’s sense of melody”
Grohl’s Beatles fandom stretches back to his earliest childhood memories. “The first Beatles song I’d ever heard, and it might be the first record I ever listened to, was ‘Hey Jude’,” he told the BBC. “I remember having a sleepover at a friend’s house when I was maybe four or five years old and listening to it. I don’t think I’d ever heard a rock ’n’ roll record before, and this was my introduction. It stuck with me ever since.”
Even after decades in the music business, Grohl’s affection for the band remains rooted in pure musical appreciation. Speaking to BBC Radio 2, he explained his Harrison choice:
“Of all The Beatles, each of them is so entirely different — melodically, in their songwriting, lyrically. But George Harrison, there was almost something about him that I preferred the most. I loved every single one of them, but I connected to George’s sense of melody more than anyone.”
It wasn’t about image or personality — it was about the way Harrison’s guitar lines sang, the way his solos felt like stories in themselves.
Writing “Oh, George”
That admiration for Harrison wasn’t just sentimental — it directly inspired Grohl’s songwriting. After the traumatic end of Nirvana in 1994, Grohl threw himself into recording what would become the Foo Fighters’ debut album, playing nearly every instrument himself. Among its tracks was one called “Oh, George” — a deliberate nod to his Beatles hero.
“On the first Foo Fighters record there is a song entitled ‘Oh, George’,” Grohl recalled during the Abbey Road tribute. “I basically wanted the guitar solo to sound like something he would do. The guitar solo in the song ‘Something’ is the first guitar solo I ever learned. It’s such a beautiful solo. Melodically, it’s safe to say it’s one of the most classic guitar solos of all time. Such a beautiful song.”
That “Something” solo, subtle yet emotionally potent, had clearly lodged itself in Grohl’s musical subconscious. His attempt to channel it into “Oh, George” was as much a tribute as it was an exercise in melodic discipline.
Harrison’s humility, Grohl’s reverence
Ironically, while Grohl considered “Something” a masterclass in melodic guitar playing, Harrison himself was characteristically modest about it. Speaking in 1969, Harrison shrugged:
“The words are nothing, really. There are lots of songs like that in my head. I must get them down. Some people tell me that ‘Something’ is one of the best things I’ve ever written. I don’t know. Maybe they’re right, maybe they’re wrong. It’s very flattering, though. It’s probably the nicest melody tune that I’ve written.”
For Grohl, however, the influence was profound. Naming a song in Harrison’s honour and consciously trying to emulate his style made it clear just how deep that connection ran.
Because while we all might claim to love every member of The Beatles equally, Grohl’s candid admission reminds us of a universal truth among fans: deep down, we all have a favourite. And for him, it’s George Harrison — the quiet one whose melodies still speak volumes.
