Dave Grohl and Greg Kurstin have shared their live version of 10cc‘s Top 5 1976 hit “The Things We Do for Love.”
It’s the latest addition to the duo’s third annual Hanukkah Sessions series, in which they pay tribute to Jewish musicians. Grohl and Kurstin were joined by the latter’s bandmate in the Bird and the Bee, Inara George for the performance, which was recorded in front of a live audience on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles. The crowd was actively involved in the rendition, repeating the chorus’ lyrics back to George as part of the song’s familiar call and repeat.
You can watch the video below.
When 10cc formed in Stockport, England in 1972, three of the band’s four members – Graham Gouldman, Kevin Godley and Lol Creme – were Jewish, with Eric Stewart as their only gentile. The group briefly joked about naming themselves “Three Yids and a Yok,” although Gouldman was quick to tell The Audiophile Man, “we never would have done it. It would have been offensive to Eric and it would have been offensive to us!”
After Godley and Creme left to form their own more experimental group in 1976, “The Things We Do for Love” was the first single Gouldman, Stewart and drummer Paul Burgess released after the split.
The non-Jewish Grohl, who began the Hanukkah Sessions with Kurstin in 2020, has said that the series has grown far beyond their original intended scope. “This project, which initially began as a silly idea, grew to represent something much more important to me,” he said at the end of 2020’s series. “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.”
Watch 10cc Perform ‘The Things We Do for Love’
Jewish Rock Stars
Some of the biggest rock stars in history happen to be Jewish, either by birth or conversion.