10 Close Calls In Rock History
7. Dave Grohl Almost Goes Heartland
No musician ever wants to find themselves in the position that Dave Grohl was dealt at the tail end of 1994. After having lost one of his best friends Kurt Cobain to suicide, his future in music seemed dismal at best, with the grunge wave slowly caving in with the fall of their icon. Though Dave managed to pick up the pieces with the Foo Fighters, there was a good chance he could have traded that in for some heartland rock.
Around the same time that Dave was making the demos for what would become the first Foos record, he got a call from Tom Petty's management asking if he would like to sit in with the Heartbreakers on Saturday Night Alive. Using it as an opportunity to recharge his batteries, Dave nailed his performance before being asked if he wanted to come on as the Heartbreakers' new drummer.
Even though this was the rock and roll golden ticket, it was keyboardist Benmont Tench who talked Dave out of joining, having listened to the first demos of the Foo Fighters and telling Dave to run with it. While Dave landed on his feet by becoming one of the most in demand frontmen of the late '90s, he could have also made one of the biggest mistakes of his life by not going the classic rock route.