Dave Grohl paid tribute to his one-time Nirvana bandmate Paul McCartney (technically, it’s true!) with a rendition of “Live and Let Die” at the Love Rocks NYC benefit concert Thursday night, March 7.
The Foo Fighters frontman gave a characteristically full-throated performance of McCartney’s hit 1973 James Bond theme song. Though he strained a bit to hit some of the high notes during the ballad-y sections and left the “You know you did” refrain to the backing vocalists, he attacked the hard rock portions the way only Dave Grohl can.
Along with his cover of “Live and Let Die,” Grohl’s two-song appearance at the benefit concert featured a rendition of the Foo Fighters’ own classic, “Everlong.”
This year’s Love Rocks NYC benefit — which raises money for the non-profit God’s Love We Deliver — was hosted by Conan O’Brien, Tracy Morgan, and Jim Gaffigan. It featured a characteristically stacked musical lineup, with performances from Tom Morello, Nile Rodgers, the Black Keys, Hozier, Allison Russell, and Bettye Lavette.
Joss Stone also took the stage alongside Trombone Shorty to deliver a big, brassy cover of Prince’s Purple Rain opener, “Let’s Go Crazy.”
As for Grohl, he and the Foo Fighters have had a relatively quiet start to 2024 after a busy 2023 that saw them return to the road and release But Here We Are, their 11th album and first since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022. They do have a busy spring and summer ahead, though, with a bunch of festival dates on the horizon and a North American stadium tour that kicks off July 17 in New York City and wraps Aug. 18 in Seattle.
And along with covering McCartney, Grohl recently teamed up with Anthrax’s Charlie Benante and Scott Ian to cover Bad Brains‘ “The Regulator” for a special Record Store Day release. All proceeds will go towards healthcare costs for Bad Brains frontman H.R., who suffers from a painful kind of rare headache known as SUNCT