From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars

4.7 4.7 out of 5 stars | 2,660 ratings

Price: 17.05

Last update: 12-31-2024


About this item

Written by Virginia Grohl, the mother of Dave Grohl - former Nirvana drummer and current frontman for the Foo Fighters - From Cradle to Stage shares stories and exclusive photos featuring mothers of rock icons, the icons themselves, and their behind the music-style relationships.

While the Grohl family had always been musical - the family sang together on long car trips, harmonizing to Motown and David Bowie - Virginia never expected her son to become a musician, let alone a rock star. But when she saw him perform in front of thousands of screaming fans for the first time, she knew that rock stardom was meant to be for her son. And as Virginia watched her son's star rise, she often wondered about the other mothers who raised sons and daughters who became rock stars. Were they as surprised as she was about their children's fame? Did they worry about their children's livelihood and well-being in an industry fraught with drugs and other dangers? Did they encourage their children's passions despite the odds against success, or attempt to dissuade them from their grandiose dreams? Do they remind their kids to pack a warm coat when they go on tour?

Virginia decided to seek out other rock star mothers to ask these questions, and so began a two-year odyssey in which she interviewed such women as Verna Griffin, Dr. Dre's mother; Marianne Stipe, Michael Stipe of REM's mother; Janis Winehouse, Amy Winehouse's mother; Patsy Noah, Adam Levine's mother; Donna Haim, mother of the Haim sisters; Hester Diamond, Mike D of The Beastie Boys' mother.

With exclusive family photographs and a foreword by Dave Grohl, From Cradle to Stage will appeal to mothers and rock fans everywhere.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Teresa Carrelli
    5.0 out of 5 stars She loved it
    Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2024
    Friend loved this book. It was a gift.
  • Andrea Smith
    5.0 out of 5 stars Where the heart of rock & roll began
    Reviewed in the United States on April 24, 2017
    Last year, my son tagged me in a link to the pre-order feature on Amazon for "From Cradle to Stage". I bit and checked it out and pre-ordere the book. Then began the months-long wait. Finally, Amazon sent word that the book would arrive by April 28th. I was excited when the book actually showed up April 21st. I woke up my night owl son by tossing the box on his bed, and then spent the next few minutes listening to his zealous whoops as he read the table of contents. I finally had a chance to sit down and read the book cover-to-cover today (after a cat startled me into splashing a few pages a glass of milk and I had to pry the pages apart--damn it). I just finished the book, and I have to say it is a fantastic piece of work. As a sister and as a mother of passionate drummers, it resonates with my soul. I grew up with my little brother's drum kit set up in our dining room, listening to him pounding out beat after beat either alone or with his band mates for hours on end--he grew up to be a computer programmer, but I understand the intensity that Mrs. Grohl describes. Jon filled his basement with his homemade risers and two drum kits merged into one, and with his handmade guitar rack holding his guitars alongside the amps and other equipment--now that we have lost him all too soon to a senseless murder, my children have inherited his precious drum kit. Of my four children, two are drummers--my night owl son and my daughter (who also dabbles with violin, keyboard, and any other instrument that peaks her interest). My son attended his first Foo Fighters concert last year, and he raves about it and Dave Grohl frequently--to say it made it an impact on him is putting it mildly. Tambour is the type of child Mrs. Grohl describes in her book--gifted but unfocused in school, passionate and dancing to a different beat. The boy never wanted to sleep, and to this day he can always find something more interesting to do with his time than sleep or eat. When he sits still long enough to read this book, I know I am going to hear about it for not turning him loose to forego education for a stage. So maybe the connection I felt to the book has something to do with all of that, or maybe it is the fact that I was once a special education teacher who focused on the children who were "too smart for their own good" and labeled as behavior disordered when they truly belonged in the gifted category. Thank you, Mrs. Grohl, for writing this book--it was sorely needed and greatly appreciated!
  • Melissa Cortright
    5.0 out of 5 stars Mamma’s please let your babies grow up to be…whatever they want to be.
    Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2022
    This book is a MUST READ for all mom’s (and Dad’s) whom, some without ever realizing it, encouraged, supported, inspired, their children to do embrace and focus on their natural talents and musical abilities. Who were teaching their kids music appreciation in THE CAR of all places.
    Who used music and taught there kids how to spell, count, and about historical moments that may have never got or their attention in a history class in school.
    For the parents who allowed their kids to be kids and to just BE and never pushed them to become WHAT or WHOM they wanted them to become.

    To the parent’s who yelled out of sheer frustration, “GET OUT OF MY HAIR AND GO SOMETHING TO DO.”

    I yelled that A LOT while I was raising my boys. But the last time I yelled that at them…it stuck and what came from that moment, astounds me until this day.

    It does not matter if your musician child is famous at all. My goal was never to make fame their goal. My goal was and still is to keep playin. Keep learning and to enjoy music. ALWAYS.

    I am so inspired by this book and the stories shared by all the mamma’s of musicians…I plan to sit down and write my story. It may never become a book or a movie. I will leave it for my boys to find and read someday.

    My guys are now 24 and 25 and they’re still playin. My husband and I did not know at the time that we created a rhythm section.
    A drummer and bassist and their damn good. Like scary good and they don’t realize how good they really are. They play because they love to play and that my friends is what it’s all about.
    Like I always tell them…I AM and always will be YOUR BIGGEST FAN.

    This is an awesome book. I love it!
  • Gahanna ST
    4.0 out of 5 stars A sweet memoir with interesting details
    Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2017
    I am a big fan of rock music, so this book is a treat-filled account of childhood experiences of some of music's biggest stars. There is good advice here for young mothers who are struggling to be supportive to their child who just doesn't conform. I especially enjoyed reading about Tom Morello's mother. She is quite an inspiration with her early globe trotting adventures and her support of civil rights in Africa.
    I think Virginia Grohl chose discretion over full disclosure for most of the writing, but I'm OK with that. She is obviously beloved by her children, so she should feel comfortable in her skin at this stage of her life. Kudos!
  • Roxx Tarantini
    5.0 out of 5 stars Tears will well up and spill over . . .
    Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2023
    . . . and you will need boxes of tissues . . .

    . . . but you won't want to miss a single sentence of these snapshots of mother stories about some of the most well-known, well-loved entertainers of our time.

    Ginnie Grohl writes with sympathy and understanding these mother-stories. She is perhaps the most obvious choice as chronicler. The women who shaped our favourites - and some newly discovered, I'm sure - open their hearts to a writer who is well-suited fully prepared to treat them with dignity and empathy.

    You'll love these glimpses, and you'll read avidly the vignettes interspersed between them, of her own son, David.

    Ms Grohl's book was published in the late twenty-teens, and she has since passed. That makes me sad because I feel certain that Ginnie had many more stories to tell us.

    Next up, for me, is her son's book, The Storyteller . . . if he's anything like his mother, I'm sure I'll not be able to put it down!
  • Mary Jo Watson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Moms DO Rock
    Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2024
    Fast delivery, well-packaged. Just getting into this book, but I know I'm gonna be hooked! I love David Grohl and all that he's done in his life and with his family. I am sure that because he's a cool extension of his mom, she was too and had the foresight and determination to write this book. Awesome, Mom!!!!
  • Student
    5.0 out of 5 stars Fun stories.
    Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2024
    Backstory info...
  • Lora Lee La France
    3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining
    Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2023
    Comfortable easy read. Like listening to friend. Author made several interesting connections around education, interests, and behaviors of children who became successful musicians.

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