Who Was Foo Fighter Drummer Taylor Hawkins? Find Out Here

Most know Taylor Hawkins as the drummer of the Foo Fighters, but who was Taylor Hawkins the person?

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I have only seen the Foo Fighters two times in their career. Once when they played the Metro in Chicago and the other was at Wrigley Field in Chicago when Dave Grols leg was broken and he had to perform on a throne. Both shows were equally good although at the Metro show the Foo's were still a 4-piece unlike at Wrigley field when guitarist Pat Smear and keyboardist Rami Jaffee.

Background on Taylor Hawkins

Taylor Hawkins was born Oliver Taylor Hawkins in Fort Worth, Texas, on February 17, 1972. At four years old his family moved to Laguna Beach, California, where Hawkins, his brother Jason and his sister Heather grew up. He graduated high school in 1990 from Laguna Beach High School.

Hawkins grew up learning his drum chops from some of the greatest classic rock drummers in history like Roger Taylor of Queen, Stewart Copeland of The Police, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Neil Peart of Rush, Phil Collins of Genisis, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction and Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos to name a few.

It didn't take long after high school for Taylor to get noticed because not long after joining Orange County-based Slyvia before he wound up landing a gig with Canadian rock singer Sass Jordan. Not long after touring with Jordan, Hawkins got the gig playing with Alanis Morissette. It was on one of the Morissette tours where Dave Grohl saw Hawkins play.

Grohl contacted Hawkins to ask if he knew any drummers when Foo Fighter drummer William Goldsmith left the band. Grohl didn't think he would leave Morissette's band seeing how at the time her band was much bigger than the Foo Fighters but Hawkins told Grohl he was the guy for the gig. The two would play together for 25 years before Hawkins's untimely death.

Taylor Hawkins Family

Hawkins was a happy-go-lucky type of guy who generally had a smile on his face at all times. Hawkins met his wife while being a member of the Foo Fighters. Hawkins married Alison in 2005. The two had three children together, Oliver, Annabelle, and Everleigh, and lived in Topanga Canyon, California.

Meeting with Taylor Hawkins

I was lucky enough to meet Taylor Hawkins and the rest of the Foo Fighters at one of their performances at the Metro in Chicago. My good friend Tim has been long-time friends with Foo Fighter producer Nick Raskulinecz who invited us to the show. It was Tim that had introduced me to Nick when he and I stopped by his Knoxville, Tennessee home after getting our band at the time Lazy Bones album mastered in Nashville.

Tim and I went to the show not knowing we would meet the members of the Foo Fighters, we went to see Nick and watch the Foo's perform. Nick, Tim, and I were standing out in front of the Foo's tour bus while Dave was inside getting interviewed by Rolling Stone magazine. This was when Taylor Hawkins came up to join in our conversation.

What impressed me the most about meeting Hawkins was just how nice and inviting he was as a human being. He joked around with us like we knew each other for years. He was happy to meet you even if it was only for a brief moment. The big thing was Hawkins was glad to be there to be playing drums. He had so much respect for Dave Grohl and without giving out some private details on our conversation he said he was honored to play drums for the drummer of Nirvana.

Taylor loved the drums, loved singing, and was an amazing singer. Grohl often bought Hawkins out to front the Foo's where he would often sing covers of Queen songs. The final song Hawkins would sing with the Foo's was Queen's "Somebody To Love."

Taylor Hawkins will be Missed

Taylor Hawkins will be missed by fans and musicians worldwide. Hawkins definitely made a mark with his craft and you can see that by all the industry tributes from some of the biggest names in the business.

All we can do now is pray for his family during this time of tragedy as well as pray for his musical family the Foo Fighters.