It’s probably not every mother’s dream to see their kid pursue the unstable life of sex, drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, but in the case of Dave Grohl and his mum Virginia, it all worked out rather nicely.

In fact, with a son who has carved out an incredibly successful career in some of the world’s biggest and most influential rock bands, she feels she knows a thing or two about how to raise a rock star, and she’s hoping to pass some of that wisdom down in the form of her new book, ‘From Cradle to Stage: Stories from the Mothers Who Rocked and Raised Rock Stars’.

As you can gather from the title, it’s not just Virginia’s own perspective on offer, and NME reports that there’ll be input from the mums of the Beastie Boys’ Mike D, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello, Rush’s Geddy Lee and more.

Dave himself says his bit too, writing the foreword, and it’s here that we get a sobering reflection on the other side of the rock star lifestyle, as he discusses Virginia’s interview with Amy Winehouse’s mother. He compares Amy’s tragic passing with Kurt Cobain’s infamous death, stating that her story “hits close to home because there are some parallels between Amy and Kurt.”

As far as his success is concerned, he believes his mother knew how to set him on the right path and support his decisions, as she “understands there are some kids who work outside of conventional systems,” and it’s this understanding she no doubt hopes to impart through the book.

“Mike D’s mom, Hester Diamond, is a very high-powered woman in the art world,” Virginia says. “When Mike wanted to be a Beastie kind of boy, she was totally accepting.”

And, as it turns out, Dave Grohl is just as nice a guy as he seems. “I didn’t need to tell him that even when we just had peanut butter and jelly for dinner he should still say thank you. He thanked me every time.”

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If you’re the mother of a fledgling muso, you’ll be able to hear more from Mrs. Grohl and the 18 other rock mums she interviewed when the book is released on April 18.

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