FOO FIGHTERS drummer Taylor Hawkins has died at the age of 50.
The band confirmed his passing in a statement earlier tonight (Friday, March 25).
“The FOO FIGHTERS family is devastated by the tragic and untimely loss of our beloved Taylor Hawkins,” read the message. “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.”
FOO FIGHTERS were on tour in South America at the time of Hawkins‘s death and were preparing to perform in Bogota, Colombia on Friday. That show has since been canceled.
Taylor‘s cause of death has not been revealed.
Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Hawkins joined FOO FIGHTERS in 1997. Prior to that, he played with the Orange County band SYLVIA and was also in the backing band for Sass Jordan. He also toured with Alanis Morissette as her drummer.
Hawkins was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last year as a member of the FOO FIGHTERS.
Hawkins‘s most recent work with FOO FIGHTERS included last year’s “Medicine At Midnight” album, a collection of BEE GEES covers and FOO FIGHTERS‘ horror film “Studio 666”.
Hawkins‘s solo project TAYLOR HAWKINS AND THE COATTAIL RIDERS released its first album in 2006, and a follow-up effort, “Get The Money”, in 2019. Other side projects included THE BIRDS OF SATAN and the classic rock cover band CHEVY METAL. More recently, he formed the supergroup NHC with JANE’S ADDICTION members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney.
Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison, whom he married in 2005, and their three children: Oliver Shane, Annabelle and Everleigh.
Last year, Hawkins told The Sydney Morning Herald about his early family life: “My mom, Elizabeth Ann Hawkins, had her demons and a dark side. She was full of love, sweetness and tenderness and the total opposite of my dad [Terry]. She always believed in me. I would stand in front of her as a kid and sing, impersonate or dance for her. When I first got drums, she was the one who would watch me play. She was a big supporter and told me I’d make it. She counteracted Dad’s stony coldness, typical of a ’70s man.
“I remember going to my first rock concert in 1982 to see QUEEN. I told Mom, ‘I’ll play that stadium one day.’ She looked at me with eyes that matched my ambition. Mom was always there for me emotionally. She let me open up to her and showed me it was okay to have a gentle side.
“Mom was a little absent sometimes because of her demons and my older sister Heather took up a lot of that slack. When dinner didn’t get finished because Mom had passed out on the couch, Heather was the one who made sure everything ran smoothly.
“My mom died from an aneurysm, nine months after Dad died in 2011 from emphysema. They loved each other, but for the last five years of his life, it was Mom who took care of him. I saw this great release in Mom’s eyes after he died because she’d been carrying his oxygen tank everywhere they went. They were like best friends; they lived a full life. But there was tragedy, too.
“Heather is the toughest member of our family. She’s the middle child and can still boss us all around. While my dad worried I’d live on his couch for his whole life because I was some loser musician, he never had to worry about Heather. My older brother, Jason, followed in Dad’s footsteps and became a businessman.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
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Tagged: Alternative Music, music blog