This Is How Far Dave Grohl Got In School
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has been focused on music since his childhood. He started playing the guitar at 10 years old and joined various bands in his early teens. He also learned to play the drums and was the drummer for the band Freak Baby in the '80s. Grohl's mother, Virginia Hanlon Grohl, was a public school teacher and valued education. One would think that she would insist on her son finishing at least his high school education before focusing on his music, but that wasn't what happened.
At 17 years old, Grohl decided to drop out of his junior year of high school to pursue a music career. Surprisingly, Virginia was supportive. In an interview with the Washington Post, she said, "Everyone thought I was out of my mind. I knew it was risky, yeah, but it seemed to me a way that he would learn about the world, and that's what education is supposed to be. It's not about getting all the answers, but showing you how to learn." Virginia also share with The Guardian, how Grohl often got detention for skipping school and said it was "all failure, and doom and gloom."
Grohl toured with the band Scream as their drummer in the late 1980s, and he sang backup vocals as well. Scream took a break in 1990, and that was when Grohl joined Nirvana (via All Music).
Dave Grohl's father wasn't supportive at first
When Dave Grohl decided to drop out of high school, he got different responses from his parents. While his mother was supportive of his decision, his father — James Harper Grohl — wasn't as happy, as he wanted a more traditional path for his son. "I think my father just imagined I would take the conventional route through life where I would go four years through high school, four years through college, getting a job, having a wife, having some children," Grohl wrote in his memoir titled "The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music" (via Sky News). Regardless, Grohl followed his dream and went on a U.S. and European tour with Scream.
Despite what happened, Grohl's father eventually came to terms with his son's decision. In fact, as iHeart reported, he even came to see Grohl perform, and it was then when he saw his son's passion for what he did. "I remember him coming to see us play at a punk rock club in Washington DC. And I think it was then that he recognized I was actually pretty good at what I did, as a drummer," Grohl wrote.
Ultimately, Grohl's decision to quit school and focus on music wasn't bad at all. He is one of the most beloved people in the music industry and was even recognized by Rolling Stone as one of the greatest drummers of all time.