For the fourth night of Hanukkah, Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have delivered yet another cover – this time of Van Halen‘s classic ‘Jump’.
The cover arrives as part of the duo’s second-annual Hanukkah Sessions, where the Foo Fighters frontman and the superstar producer perform covers of songs originally performed by Jewish artists. They perform one song a night for eight consecutive nights, aligning with the Festival Of The Lights.
Sharing today’s cover, a tweet from the Foo Fighters account explained why the song was chosen, reading: “Quite possibly the loudest and proudest of hard-rocking Jews, David Lee Roth has gone on record crediting his Bar Mitzvah preparation as his earliest vocal training.
“He became a rockstar the day he became a man: Diamond Dreidel DLR and Van Halen…with ‘Jump’.”
Watch the cover below:
This is not the first time Grohl and Kurstin have covered Van Halen together. Kurstin’s band The Bird & The Bee performed on The Late Late Show with James Corden in 2017, covering ‘Ain’t Talking ‘Bout Love’ with Grohl on drums. The same song was also covered on several stops of the Foo Fighters’ ‘Sonic Highways’ world tour, with drummer Taylor Hawkins taking lead vocals.
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The pair’s cover of ‘Jump’ follows three others they’ve performed this year so far as part of Hanukkah Sessions: Barry Manilow‘s ‘Copacabana’, the Ramones‘ ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ and Lisa Loeb’s ‘Stay (I Missed You)’.
Grohl and Kurstin have launched the series last year, covering acts like Drake, Peaches and Beastie Boys. On the final day of last year’s instalment, the Foo Fighters frontman shared a cover of The Velvet Underground’s ‘Rock And Roll’ alongside a caption explaining what the series meant to him.
“As 2020 comes to a close and another Hanukkah ends (my first!) I am reminded of the two things that have gotten me through this year: music and hope,” he said.
“This project, which initially began as a silly idea, grew to represent something much more important to me. It showed me that the simple gesture of spreading joy and happiness goes a long way, and as we look forward, we should all make an effort to do so, no matter how many candles are left to light on the menorah.”
Foo Fighters have just announced a US stadium tour set for 2022, though have already had to change their Minneapolis venue due to the original venue not complying with the band’s COVID-19 safety requirements.