Would you like your favorite band to play in your town? Try this, it worked for the music lovers of Cesena, Italy.
The Foo Fighters played in Cesena, population 97,000, on November 3, 2015, three months after receiving a video invitation. It wasn’t some run of the mill plea; it was 350 guitarists, 250 singers, 250 drummers and 150 bassists playing our Song of the Day, “Learn to Fly.”
The video went viral (see it here), with more than 11.5 million views on YouTube in the first two days. It now has 62 million views.
Marine biologist Fabio Zaffagnini was the genius behind the invitation. He got the idea in May 2014 from the creators of the movie “School of Rock.”
He raised about $50,000 through crowdfunding and hired Anita Rivaroli to produce the video. She was so impressed she later interviewed participants and made a 2020 documentary “We are the Thousand.”
Foo Fighter frontman David Grohl committed to the visit a couple of days after the video went viral.
The band didn’t disappoint. They played 27 songs, including our Song of the Day.
Grohl wrote “Learn to Fly” in 1999. It was the lead single from their album “There is Nothing Left to Lose.”
He has given mixed messages about it. He told songfacts.com it was “about the search for some sort of inspiration, the search of the life that will make you feel alive.”
But he told Kelly Clarkson, on her show, it was simply about him wanting to learn to fly.
No matter what it was about, the song touched a nerve. It reached 19 on the Billboard Hot 100. Only their song “Best of You,” did better. It reached number 18.
Song of the Day is created by Sheldon Zoldan, and produced by Pam James for WGCU. Audio production is by Simon Dunham, WGCU. To receive the Song of the Day in your inbox every day, email shzoldan@comcast.net with the subject line ADD ME TO SOTD.
