Written by Caitlin Vaughn Carlos
In 1997, the members of Foo Fighters convened after a Holiday break and decided to re-record their The Color and the Shape album. Not only did it afford the band a second chance to create an epic album that would bring the band both critical and commercial success, but it also gave them the chance to include a song that had previously not been planned for the album – “Everlong.” Despite its late addition, “Everlong” has gone on to become one of the band’s most lasting and powerful tracks.
The song emerged from the original recording sessions for The Color and The Shape in 1996 at Bear Creek Studios. Dave Grohl was waiting in between takes while the band was working on the song, “Monkey Wrench,” and playing casually on his guitar. He stumbled upon a single chord that would inspire the riff that eventually became the song, “Everlong.” The budding guitar part reminded Grohl of a Sonic Youth song, and he quickly recorded it so he wouldn’t forget the idea. Though the band jammed on the riff a few times in these early days, the song remained unformed as they finished the sessions at Bear Creek.
The riff finally became a song several months later while Grohl was on a holiday break in Virginia. It was an emotional time in his life, as he was recovering from the pain of divorce. He was away from home at Christmas time, spending the nights in a sleeping bag on the floor of a friend’s house. He revisited the riff and molded it into a full song. Shortly thereafter, he went to an old friend’s recording studio to lay down a demo, on which he played all the parts.
Before taking the song back to the band, he made one final check and showed the demo to Thurston Moore and Kim Gordon. Grohl explained: “I remember, actually, I played it for Thurston and Kim, from Sonic Youth, ‘cause I was deathly afraid I had just totally ripped off the Sonic Youth song somehow.” Having gained validation and enthusiastic support for the song, Grohl could confidently bring the song back to the band.
“Everlong” and the rest of The Color and The Shape album were produced by Gil Norton, with Bradley Cook as the engineer. Chris Sheldon mixed the record and Bob Ludwig did the mastering. The song was recorded at Grandmasters Recorders in Los Angeles.
Bradley Cook explained that the band had returned from their Christmas holiday, and decided to basically re-record the entire album which they had previously finished at Bear Creek. In addition to revamping the energy and sound of the album, the decision also brought about the chance to add “Everlong” to the lineup – a song that would go on to become one of the band’s most iconic tracks.
“Everlong” begins with an unforgettable guitar riff. In addition to the fortuitous discovery of the ways the chords work together, the rhythm of the riff is also intriguing. Recently, Grohl explained that he thinks of the guitar in his mind the same way that he thinks about drums—so when he plays “Everlong”—he hears it as a kick-and-snare pattern. Both Grohl and Pat Smear played guitar on the track, and Nate Mendel played bass. The drums were recorded by Grohl for the record, just as he had done on the demo.
“Everlong” was written in the aftermath of a breakup, but it is, at its core, a love song. Grohl explained to Kerrang! magazine in 2006 that “Everlong” is, “about a girl that I’d fallen in love with and it was basically about being connected to someone so much, that not only do you love them physically and spiritually, but when you sing along with them you harmonize perfectly.” Grohl’s vocals were likely recorded on a U67, and are perfectly aligned with the feel of the song. This comes from both his performance, as well as the creativity of how they recorded the many vocal elements. For instance, Grohl brought in Louise Post of the band, Veruca Salt, to sing the backup vocals on the track — which were literally recorded through the telephone. Additionally, the track includes some unexpected and interesting effects, such as a distorted whispering sound in the rear of the mix. Cook explained that the recording captures the childhood story of assistant engineer Ryan Boesch.
“Everlong” was released on August 18, 1997, as the second single off the band’s The Color and Shape album, which had been released a few months earlier, in May. The single hit number 18 on the UK singles chart, and in the US it made Top 5 for Billboards Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Charts. It has remained a staple of the Foo Fighters live repertoire ever since its release.
Further, even though the hit tune didn’t feature a soon-added band member, “Everlong” became a signature song for the band’s late drummer, Taylor Hawkins. He joined the Foo Fighters in 1997-shortly after the album was finished-and famously appears bursting out of bed and into a drum kit for the song’s music video.
“Everlong” also received a second bump as an acoustic track after Grohl performed it, live, for the Howard Stern show in 1998. The stripping-down of the song to just the guitar and vocals allowed listeners to reimagine its meaning in a completely new way and reinvigorated general interest in the song.