David Grohl (b.1969) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is the founder of Foo Fighters, for whom he is the singer, guitarist, and primary songwriter. He was the drummer for Nirvana from 1990 to 1994. He has been induced into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice – in 2014 as a part of Nirvana and in 2021 as a member of Foo Fighters. David has spoken of having ADD [the historic name for predominantly in-attentive type ADHD] in a self-penned article in The Atlantic in 2020.
The Atlantic (2020)
“I hate to break it to you, but I was a terrible student.
Each day, I desperately waited for the final bell to ring so that I could be released from the confines of my stuffy, windowless classroom and run home to my guitar. It was no fault of the Fairfax County Public Schools system, mind you; it did the best it could. I was just stubbornly disengaged, impeded by a raging case of ADD and an insatiable desire to play music. Far from being a model student, I tried my best to maintain focus, but eventually left school halfway through 11th grade to follow my dreams of becoming a professional touring musician (not advised). I left behind countless missed opportunities. To this day, I’m haunted by a recurring dream that I’m back in those crowded hallways, now struggling to graduate as a 51-year-old man, and anxiously wake in a pool of my own sweat. You can take the boy out of school, but you can’t take school out of the boy!”