Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins (February 17, 1972 – March 25, 2022) was an American musician who was best known as the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters. Joining the band in 1997, Hawkins quickly became one of the group's most recognizable faces. He remained the band’s drummer for over 25 years until his sudden death in 2022. Hawkins recorded eight studio albums with Foo Fighters between 1999 and 2021.[1] Before joining the band, he was a touring drummer for Sass Jordan and Alanis Morissette, as well as the drummer of the progressive experimental band Sylvia.[2]
For the American football player, see Tayler Hawkins.
Taylor Hawkins
Oliver Taylor Hawkins
February 17, 1972
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Laguna Beach, California, U.S.
March 25, 2022 (aged 50)
Bogotá, Colombia
Musician
- Drums
- percussion
- vocals
1990–2022
In 2004, Hawkins formed his own side project, Taylor Hawkins and the Coattail Riders, in which he played drums and sang, releasing three studio albums between 2006 and 2019.[3] He formed the supergroup NHC with Jane's Addiction members Dave Navarro and Chris Chaney in 2020, where he also took on lead vocal and drumming duties.[4]
Hawkins was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2021 as a member of Foo Fighters.[5] He was voted "Best Rock Drummer" in 2005 by the British drumming magazine Rhythm.
Early life[edit]
Oliver Taylor Hawkins was born in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1972.[6][7] His family moved to Laguna Beach, California, in 1976, where Hawkins grew up.[7] Hawkins was the youngest of three, with an older brother and sister, Jason and Heather.[8] He graduated from Laguna Beach High School in 1990,[9] where he had been friends with current Yes lead vocalist Jon Davison.[10]
Career[edit]
Early career[edit]
Hawkins played in the Orange County–based band Sylvia before he became the drummer for Sass Jordan.[11]
From June 1995 until March 1997, Hawkins was Alanis Morissette's drummer on the tour supporting Jagged Little Pill and her Can't Not tour. He appeared in the videos for "You Oughta Know", "All I Really Want", and "You Learn". He also appeared on Morissette's VHS/DVD Jagged Little Pill, Live (1997).[12]
Personal life[edit]
Hawkins and his wife, Alison, married in 2005.[57] Together they had three children.[58] They lived in Hidden Hills, California, after moving from Topanga Canyon in 2012.[59]
Hawkins overdosed on heroin in August 2001, which left him in a coma for two weeks.[60] Hawkins' bandmate and best friend,[61] Dave Grohl, was beside his hospital bed in London for two weeks until he woke up.[62] Grohl said he was ready to quit music while Hawkins was in the hospital.[62] He also revealed in the 2011 documentary Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, that he wrote the song "On the Mend" from the band's 2005 album In Your Honor about Hawkins while he was in a coma.[63] Speaking to Beats 1 host Matt Wilkinson in 2018 about the incident, Hawkins said: "I was partying a lot. I wasn't a junkie, per se, but I was partying. There was a year where the partying just got a little too heavy. Thank God on some level this guy gave me the wrong line with the wrong thing one night and I woke up going, 'What the fuck happened?' That was a real changing point for me." In the same interview, Hawkins also said he was sober.[64]
Hawkins suffered from stage fright.[65][66] Speaking about his health in a June 2021 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Hawkins said: "I'm healthy. I'm good... I get sinus infections really bad. And I just found out from my doctor, got all my blood tests and my heart everything checked and he goes, 'Dude, you're in amazing shape. Your heart's big, because you exercise a lot. It's like a runner's heart.' And that's fine. The only thing is, he said, 'I think you have sleep apnea.' And my wife's always saying you snore and you fucking make weird noises while you're sleeping and stuff."[66]
