Dave Grohl Admits He Was ‘Ripping Off’ Disco Drummers While Recording Nevermind

Dave Grohl and his mom’s unscripted reality series From Cradle to Stage has given us a lot of insight into famous musicians and their mothers, but during an interview with Pharrell Williams, Grohl dropped a bombshell that will forever change how you listen to Nirvana’s Nevermind.

After refuting Pharrell’s comment that he’s a great drummer (“I’m the most basic fucking drummer”), Grohl unleashed the secret that he ripped off disco drummers while recording his parts on the iconic 1991 album. “If you listen to Nevermind… I pulled so much stuff from the Gap Band and Cameo and [Chic’s] Tony Thompson on every one of those songs,” he admitted. “all that… that’s old disco!”

The revelation not only blew Pharrell’s mind (and probably yours too), but he also couldn’t believe he didn’t hear the influence sooner.

“Nobody makes the connection,” Grohl assured him before telling a story about how Thompson came to his house for a barbecue years ago. “I was like, ‘Man, I just want to thank you because I owe you so much I’ve been ripping you off my whole life,’” he recalled. “He goes, ‘I know.’”

Dave Grohl has made his love for disco clear with Foo Fighters covering Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing” earlier this year and more recently announcing a Bee Gees cover album for Record Store Day’s next drop. And now it all makes more sense.

Watch the interview clip below.

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