Some songs never really leave us, no matter how many years pass or how often we’ve heard them. One track released on August 18, 1997, is proving that all over again, climbing back to the top of the charts nearly three decades after it first arrived.
It’s a pretty impressive run for a song that came together in about 45 minutes. What started as an acoustic guitar idea during a difficult period in one musician’s life has become a lasting rock favorite, and its latest chart position shows that listeners are still coming back for more.
A 1997 Rock Classic Returns to No. 1
Foo Fighters are back at the top of the Billboard Hard Rock Streaming chart as of Sunday, Oct. 25, with “Everlong,” giving the iconic alternative rock song another moment in the spotlight. Originally released as the second single from the band’s album The Colour and the Shape, the track has remained a memorable part of the group’s catalog.
Frontman Dave Grohl wrote “Everlong” in late 1996 while staying on a friend’s floor in Virginia during his divorce from Jennifer Youngblood, according to Louder. He put the song together on an acoustic guitar in around 45 minutes, turning a difficult chapter in his personal life into something that would connect with listeners for years to come.
The song’s emotional pull is a big part of its story. Grohl drew inspiration from his romance with Louise Post of Veruca Salt, Louder adds, with the lyrics capturing the feeling of being strongly connected to another person. It’s a theme that has helped make “Everlong” more than just another rock song from the late ’90s.
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Even before the song became the classic fans know today, Grohl had a little uncertainty about it. He worried that he might have accidentally borrowed from Sonic Youth, so he played the demo for Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Rather than discouraging him, the two musicians encouraged Grohl to put the song straight onto the album.
That vote of confidence helped set the stage for a track that would become one of Foo Fighters’ best-known songs. Its combination of emotional lyrics and alternative rock energy has given it staying power long after its original release. As someone who’s written a book about grunge music, I can say that it’s one of the more important pieces in the post-Kurt Cobain era.
Now, with “Everlong” sitting at No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock Streaming chart again, the song is getting another chance to reach listeners old and new. Nearly 30 years after Grohl first put the idea together on an acoustic guitar, its return to the top is a reminder that some rock songs have a life far beyond their release dates.
For Foo Fighters, it’s another chart-topping moment for a song that began with a guitar, a difficult time and a feeling Grohl wanted to capture. Not too shabby for 45 minutes of work.
