Dave Grohl’s Favourite Guitarist of All Time

If one takes a long look at the annals of music history, a few names find themselves continually attached to the finest moments of musical triumph. One of the more modern additions to this list is the wonderfully wholesome Dave Grohl—drummer, guitarist, songwriter, frontman, and perhaps the most universally beloved figure in rock. For decades, fans have debated Grohl’s own influences: the drummers who shaped his thunderous approach, the bands that molded his songwriting, and the artists who helped carve his musical identity. But when the conversation shifts to guitarists, there is one name that rises above all others in Grohl’s heart: Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.

Grohl has never been shy about his admiration for Zeppelin, often speaking with boyish excitement whenever their music comes up. In interviews, documentaries, and award shows, he praises the band with a reverence usually reserved for mythic heroes. To Grohl, Page isn’t just a guitar hero—he is the blueprint for what a rock guitarist should be: experimental, fearless, soulful, and unapologetically loud.

In the documentary world and in countless Foo Fighters backstage stories, Grohl describes discovering Led Zeppelin like a revelation. Growing up in Virginia, he remembered hearing Page’s riffs leaking out of car stereos, house parties, and older kids’ bedrooms. The raw grit of “Black Dog,” the physical force of “Kashmir,” the perfect swagger of “Whole Lotta Love”—all of it formed a musical education long before Grohl had his first drum kit.

What makes Grohl’s admiration particularly powerful is how fully it shaped his own musical DNA. Grohl often jokes that he only became a drummer because he was “too scared to try to be as good as Jimmy Page,” but the truth is more complex. Even behind the drum kit, the influence is obvious. His explosive, heavy-hitting drumming in Nirvana channels the same primal electricity that defined Zeppelin’s rhythm section. He once said that Page’s riffs were so rhythmic they practically taught him how to play drums: “You could drum to Led Zeppelin even without drums—they were living rhythm.”

When Grohl eventually stepped into the spotlight as the guitarist and frontman of Foo Fighters, Page’s influence became even clearer. The muscular riffs of “All My Life,” the crunchy explosiveness of “Monkey Wrench,” the sludgy weight of “Stacked Actors”—all echo the hard-rock DNA of Page’s iconic playing. Grohl admits that many Foo Fighters songs begin as attempts to write a “Page-style riff,” even if they evolve into something completely different.

The documentary Sonic Highways captures some of Grohl’s most emotional reflections on Page. In one memorable moment, Grohl recalls watching early Zeppelin footage on VHS tapes as a teenager: “Jimmy didn’t just play guitar,” he said. “He summoned something—something ancient, something dangerous, something magical.” That spiritual, almost mystical respect is something Grohl still carries. Even now, he speaks of Page as though he exists in a league entirely his own.

Grohl’s love reached its peak in 2022 when he and Foo Fighters were invited to participate in the Kennedy Center Honors tribute to Led Zeppelin. Grohl describes the experience as one of the most intimidating nights of his life. As he stood onstage performing “Rock and Roll”—a song he had grown up worshipping—Grohl knew Page was watching from the balcony. “It was like playing guitar in front of God,” he later admitted.

And that moment didn’t end when he walked offstage. In one of Grohl’s favourite stories, Page approached him backstage afterward, thanked him, and complimented his performance. Grohl, overwhelmed, said he nearly fainted. “I felt like I was 13 again. I might be 50, but when Jimmy Page shakes your hand, you’re a kid.”

Of course, Grohl has tremendous respect for many other guitarists. He speaks glowingly about Tom Petty’s elegance, Prince’s genius, Slash’s style, and Joan Jett’s trailblazing spirit. He reveres punk legends like Greg Ginn and Bob Mould. And he has deep appreciation for modern players—from Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme to the rising generation of metal guitarists. Yet even with that wide, eclectic taste, Page remains his undisputed number one.

Grohl explains why with a clarity that only musicians seem to understand: “There’s technique, and then there’s feel. Page had both, but he never let technique get in the way of soul.” To Grohl, Page wasn’t a guitarist trying to impress—he was a storyteller using six strings and a tube amp to craft entire worlds. That philosophy—emotion first, virtuosity second—has defined Grohl’s entire career.

What’s most wholesome about Grohl’s admiration is that it hasn’t dimmed with age, fame, or success. Even now, after going from Nirvana’s powerhouse drummer to the Foo Fighters’ legendary frontman, Grohl still lights up like a kid when Page’s name enters the conversation. He is still the young fan with posters on his wall, still the teenager learning songs in his bedroom, still the dreamer who once held a guitar and wondered if someday he could channel a fraction of Page’s magic.

And maybe that’s why Grohl resonates with so many people. Behind all the fame, accolades, and sold-out stadiums, he never lost that sense of wonder. He never forgot the heroes who shaped him. And at the top of that mountain, holding the iconic Gibson double-neck like a wizard wielding a spellbook, stands Jimmy Page—Dave Grohl’s favourite guitarist of all time.