Everlong

"Everlong"
Single by Foo Fighters
from the album The Colour and the Shape
Released	August 18, 1997
Format	CD
Recorded	1997 at Grandmaster Recorders in Hollywood, CA
Genre	Alternative rock, post-grunge
Length	4:10 (Music video: 4:50)
Label	Roswell, Capitol
Writer(s)	Dave Grohl
Producer	Gil Norton
Certification	Gold (RIAA)
Foo Fighters singles chronology
"Monkey Wrench" (1997) "Everlong" (1997) "My Hero" (1998)
Audio sample file info · help Alternate covers CD2 Australian Limited Edition

"Everlong" is the second single released from Foo Fighters' second album The Colour and the Shape, released in 1997.

History

Everlong was written against the background of the break-up of Dave Grohl's first marriage to photographer Jennifer Youngblood. Having returned home to Virginia for Christmas 1996, Grohl turned the initial riff into a complete song and wrote the lyrics after falling for a new woman, "That song's about a girl that I'd fallen in love with and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonise perfectly.".

Music video

The music video for "Everlong" was nominated for Best Rock Video at the 1998 MTV Video Music Awards.

The surreal, satirical video for the song was directed by Michel Gondry. The running time of the video exceeds that of the original version of the song; this version is used only for the video. Although Taylor Hawkins appears in the video as the drummer, Dave Grohl actually plays the drum track on the original album recording, as Hawkins had not yet joined the band. The music video is, in part, a parody of the film The Evil Dead.

Other versions

A live version appears on the Live at Wembley Stadium DVD which was released in 2008.

Although the song is normally performed with electric guitars, vocalist/guitarist Dave Grohl's solo acoustic variation gained popularity after an impromptu rendition on Howard Stern's radio show in 1997. The band has performed it acoustically then and an acoustic performance concludes their 2006 live CD and DVD Skin and Bones. Additionally, an acoustic version of Everlong was released on Foo Fighters' 2009 Greatest Hits album.

In other media

Everlong has been featured in the popular music-themed video games Rock Band 2 and Rock Band Unplugged, and was used in promotional ads for the former. It is also included in Rock Band for the iPhone/iPod Touch. Guitar Hero World Tour contains the track and is exportable to Guitar Hero 5, Band Hero and Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock.

Track listings

UK CD1 (blue cover)

1. "Everlong"
2. "Drive Me Wild" (Vanity 6 cover)
3. "See You (Live Manchester Apollo May 25, 1997)"

UK CD2 (grey cover)

1. "Everlong"
2. "Requiem" (Killing Joke cover)
3. "I'll Stick Around (Live Manchester Apollo May 25, 1997)"

Australian CD single, Australian limited edition maxi-single digipack with bonus poster and Netherlands slimbox CD single

1. "Everlong"
2. "Down in the Park" (Gary Numan cover)
3. "See You" (acoustic)

Netherlands card sleeve CD single

1. "Everlong"
2. "Down in the Park

Promo (black cover)

1. "Everlong"

UK Limited Blue Vinyl Edition (blue cover)

1. "Everlong"
2. "Drive Me Wild" (Vanity 6 cover)

Charts and certifications

Singles charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	45
Canadian RPM Alternative 30	3
Euro Hot 100 Singles Cart	36
New Zealand Singles Chart	34
UK Singles Chart	18
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay	42
U.S. Billboard Hot Modern Rock Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	4

Certifications

Region	Certification	Sales/shipments
United States (RIAA)	Gold	500,000^
*sales figures based on certification alone

Accolades

• Ranked #45 in Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Rock Tracks Ever" (1999)
• Ranked #39 in Kerrang! magazine's "100 Greatest Singles of All Time" (2002)
• Ranked #22 in Stylus magazine's "100 Music Videos of All Time" (2006)
• Ranked #28 in VH1'S "100 Greatest Hard Rock Songs"
• Ranked #9 in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time (2009)
• Ranked #48 in NME's "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" (2011)

Personnel

• Dave Grohl - vocals, lead guitar, drums
• Pat Smear - rhythm guitar
• Nate Mendel - bass guitar
• William Goldsmith - drums on the b-side "Down in the Park"

Cover versions

• In 2009, the song was covered by Set Your Goals, posing as "Set Your Grohls" at the Hoodwink Festival, and another acoustic version was played in Grohl's home town of Warren, Ohio in his honor.^{[citation needed]}
• The song is American comedian and talk show host David Letterman's favorite song, and so is regularly played by the house band, Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra on his Late Show. On his first night back on air after heart surgery, Letterman had Foo Fighters on his show, introducing them by saying, "Here they are, ladies and gentlemen - my favorite band playing my favorite song - Foo Fighters!" Dave Grohl, in the middle of performing the song, welcomed Letterman back to television.
• The Baltimore band OXES have covered the song many times, releasing it on their Half Half & Half 7", and also performing it on BBC Radio 1 during their first Peel session.
• The seventh-season finale of Friends closes with an acoustic version of the song; the performers are unknown.
• In 2010, the song was covered and released as a single by the melodic hardcore band Evergreen Terrace.
• The same year, Unicante, the students choir of the University of Göttingen, performed a special a capella arranged version of Everlong on their summer concerts.

External links

• "Everlong" Official music video on YouTube