Why Dave Grohl Kept His Phone at 100% for a Week—Prince Had a Plan!
OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
In a world full of dream collaborations, few can compare to the musical encounter Dave Grohl had with the legendary Prince. The Foo Fighters frontman recently shared a fascinating story on his Dave’s True Stories Instagram account about a magical moment he experienced in 2011—one that, in his words, “fulfilled a lifelong dream,” even though it didn’t play out in the way he expected.
Grohl’s journey to jamming with Prince started with a chance encounter at one of Prince’s residency shows in Los Angeles. After the performance, Grohl had the honor of meeting the music icon backstage, which led to an unexpected invitation. “How about next Friday?” Prince asked Grohl, suggesting they play together.
For Grohl, this moment was a culmination of years of admiration and respect. “It was Prince,” he wrote. “And he was asking me to jam. It was a proposition I had wished for my entire adult life, but never in my wildest dreams imagined possible.” His excitement was palpable. He reflected on the overwhelming urge to drop to his knees and shout the iconic “We’re not worthy!” in a Wayne’s World-inspired homage to the moment, but somehow managed to maintain composure.
However, the reality of this invitation came with its own set of anxieties. Grohl, known for always keeping his phone at a perilous battery level, became hyper-aware of the importance of staying connected. “For those seven days, I didn’t let that motherfucker dip below 100 percent for one hot second,” he admitted. His phone was never more than three feet from a wall socket, and he even slept with it on his chest. The looming uncertainty of whether Prince would follow through kept Grohl on edge, but the excitement of just being on his radar was enough to sustain him.
Grohl took a moment to reflect on how Prince had already touched his life. He recounted how Prince had performed a memorable version of Foo Fighters’ “Best of You” at the 2007 Super Bowl halftime show. That moment, Grohl said, was his “proudest musical achievement.” Yet, as much as he admired the artist, he’d learned to temper his expectations over the years, focusing instead on simply appreciating the moments as they came.
When the fateful day arrived, Grohl found himself standing on stage in an empty venue, unsure of what would come next. That’s when Prince appeared, asking Grohl to play drums. The two played together, with Prince’s bass guitar closely following Grohl’s beats, creating what Grohl described as a “moment divine” that was shared by no one but them. It was pure magic, unsung and unnoticed by the outside world.
The jam session then took an even more exhilarating turn when Prince suggested they play a rendition of Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.” Grohl’s excitement reached its peak as he eagerly agreed, confirming, “Yes! Yes, Prince! We should do that!” But just as quickly as it started, the moment was over, with Prince once again leaving Grohl to ponder the surreal nature of it all.
The following week, Grohl was invited back for another session, but he never returned. In his reflection, he shared that, in a strange way, he didn’t need to go back. “I had fulfilled a life dream, with no evidence of it to share with anyone, other than a memory that will stay with me forever,” Grohl explained.
The encounter with Prince was a one-time experience, with the two only crossing paths once more, exchanging a simple nod in passing. Grohl’s final words on the matter were a bittersweet acknowledgment of the loss of one of music’s greatest icons: “We were lucky to have him while we did. I miss him dearly.”
In the end, Dave Grohl’s story isn’t just about a once-in-a-lifetime jam session with a musical legend. It’s about the fleeting nature of special moments and the way certain experiences become etched into our hearts, even without the need for proof or recognition. For Grohl, the memory of jamming with Prince remains, like the man himself, timeless and irreplaceable.
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