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Sunday, March 27, 2022

TAYLOR HAWKINS,
1972-2022

Taylor Hawkins, the charismatic drummer for Foo Fighters, died Friday in Bogotá, Colombia. He was 50.

The band, which was scheduled to perform at Lollapalooza in Brazil on Sunday, issued a statement reading: “The Foo Fighters family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. 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.”

No cause of death was given. Hawkins’ final concert with Foo Fighters was 3/20 at the Lollapaloozaa festival in San Isidro, Argentina. The band was expected to perform at the Grammy Awards 4/3.

Hawkins, who grew up in Laguna Beach, joined Foo Fighters in 1997 after coming to prominence as Alanis Morissette’s touring drummer during the Jagged Little Pill era.

His first of eight albums with the Foos was 1999’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose, which would win the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album, the first of 11 Grammys Hawkins would garner for his work as a Foo Fighter.

He quickly became Grohl’s right-hand man in the group, even occasionally singing lead, notably on “Cold Day in the Sun” and “Sunday Rain.”

In his book The Storyteller, Grohl wrote that Hawkins was "my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet," elaborating, "Upon first meeting, our bond was immediate, and we grew closer with every day, every song, every note that we ever played together. I am not afraid to say that our chance meeting was a kind of love at first sight, igniting a musical ‘twin flame’ that still burns to this day. Together we have become an unstoppable duo, onstage and off, in pursuit of any adventure we can find. We are absolutely meant to be, and I am grateful that we found each other in this lifetime.”

Hawkins' side projects included Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders, Birds of Satan and NHC with Dave Navarro and Jane’s Addiction bassist Chris Chaney.

Musicians ranging from Questlove to Melissa Etheridge to Ozzy Osbourne have offered condolences via social media.

TAYLOR HAWKINS,  1972-2022
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