Foo Fighters Drummer Taylor Hawkins Dead at 50
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Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has died at the age of 50.
News of Hawkins’ tragic passing was announced by Foo Fighters on Friday night. “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the band said in a statement. “His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever. Our hearts go out to his wife, children and family, and we ask that their privacy be treated with the utmost respect in this unimaginably difficult time.”
According to the Los Angeles Times, Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia on Friday — two days before the band’s headlining set at Lollapalooza Brasil on Sunday. A cause of death was not immediately disclosed.
Hawkins had been a principal member of Foo Fighters since 1997. He was recruited by frontman Dave Grohl to replace the band’s original drummer, William Goldsmith, just as the band was getting ready to release its sophomore album, The Colour and the Shape.
Hawkins appeared on every one of Foo Fighters’ studio albums beginning with 1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose through their latest LP, 2021’s Medicine at Midnight.
Prior to joining Foo Fighters, Hawkins was the drummer in Alanis Morissette’s touring band. He also fronted several side-projects, including the covers band Chevy Metal, The Birds of Satan, and Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders.
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In Foo Fighters, Hawkins had the daunting task of playing drums in a group where the frontman has long been considered one of rock’s greatest drummers. Not only did he excel at the position, he also became a second mouthpiece for the band, with a charming wit and sense of humor that gelled perfectly with Grohl’s massive personality.
Hawkins’ charisma and talent manifested itself during Foo Fighters’ epic live shows, where he was often called upon to take the spotlight, singing lead on cover songs like Queen’s “Somebody to Love.”
Sadly, for Grohl, it marks the second time he has sustained such a tragic loss as a member of a high-profile rock band, having already experienced the death of Kurt Cobain as a member of Nirvana in 1994.
Hawkins’ passing comes at an extremely active time for Foo Fighters. In addition to having an extensive tour mapped out for 2022, the band just released the horror-comedy movie Studio 666, in which all the members appeared.
Away from Foo Fighters, Hawkins was recently recruited to play drums on Ozzy Osbourne’s upcoming solo album. Upon hearing the news of Hawkins’ death, the metal icon tweeted, “Taylor Hawkins was truly a great person and an amazing musician. My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans. See you on the other side.”
Last year, Hawkins formed the new supergroup NHC with Jane’s Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney, releasing their first two singles in September and an EP just last month.
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Foo Fighters Drummer Taylor Hawkins Dead at 50
Alex Young
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