Taylor Hawkins, Drummer for Foo Fighters, Dead at 50
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has died at the age of 50.
A cause of death has not yet been released. Foo Fighters had been touring South America and were scheduled to perform at the Festival Estéreo Picnic today (March 25) in Bogota, Colombia. Multiple sources have reported that Hawkins was found dead in his hotel room in Bogota.
The musician’s death was confirmed via the band’s official social media pages.
“The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely death of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” the group said in their 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.”
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1972, Hawkins and his family moved to the Southern California suburb of Laguna Beach in 1976. It’s there that he grew up and developed a love of music, joining his first band while in high school.
In June of 1995, Hawkins became the touring drummer for Alanis Morissette, a position he kept for two years. While in this role he met Dave Grohl, his future Foo Fighters bandmate, and the two immediately shared a mutual respect.
“I’d met Dave on tour with Alanis,” Hawkins later recalled. “She said, what are you going to do when Dave asks you to join the Foo Fighters?” The drummer admitted he was shocked when Morrissette’s prediction came true. “I thought, they had a drummer. They’re happy. I love the Foo Fighters. I love the way they are. And like any smart musician with a gig, I said [to Morrissette] that I would never leave you (laughing). And then I found out the Foo Fighter drummer quit and I was like, I found the number [for Grohl]. ‘Dude! I’ll be your drummer!”
Hawkins joined the band's lineup in 1997 and would go on to play on eight of the Foo Fighters’ studio albums: There Is Nothing Left to Lose (1999), One by One (2002), In Your Honor (2005), Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace (2007), Wasting Light (2011), Sonic Highways (2014), Concrete and Gold (2017) and Medicine at Midnight (2021).
While Hawkins talents behind the kit were evident, he also showcased a strong singing voice. The rocker provided backing vocals on a long list of Foo Fighters tracks over the years, and took on lead singer duties for such songs as "Life of Illusion," "Cold Day in the Sun," and "Sunday Rain."
Outside of Foo Fighters, Hawkins released three albums under his Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders title, and a 2014 LP with his prog-rock side project the Birds of Satan. He was also the founder and frontman of the cover band Chevy Metal, which has been steadily touring for more than a decade.
In 2021, Hawkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Foo Fighters. His most recent projects include the Foo Fighters horror film Studio 666 and a side project called NHC, which featured the drummer alongside guitarist Dave Navarro and bassist Chris Chaney.