10 Legendary Songs That Almost Weren't Released

The entire makeup of the Foo Fighters' discography can really be nailed down to a science at this point. For as much as Dave Grohl prides himself on taking risks in song construction from one album to the next, you can normally expect some loud guitars, a soaring melody, and mountains of attitude coming from each respective project. When you're actually creating them in the studio though, some come to you a lot quicker than others.

Looking to combine the soft and loud side of the band on Echoes, Silence, Patience, and Grace, the Foos were coming close to the end of the session when Dave started to come up with an idea on the guitar. With their producer on vacation, Grohl laid down a basic demo of the song before realizing that he was onto something much bigger than he originally thought.

As he started to flesh out the soft opening guitar figure, the booming power chords that followed became the cornerstone for what would become the Pretender, which Grohl described as playing drums on the guitar. By the time their producer got back, the song went from just an odd leftover from the session to one of the foundational parts of the record. Even though the studio time might seem grueling, it just goes to show that you should never underestimate the power of a good idea.