Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins dead at 50
The band was on a tour of South America
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins has died, the band confirmed on social media Friday night, saying they are "devastated."
"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," the band said in a statement.
They wrote that their "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."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Hawkins was 50 years old.
Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters perform at The Innings Festival 2022 at Tempe Beach Park on February 26, 2022 in Tempe, Arizona. (John Medina/Getty Images)
After Foo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl, Hawkins was the most recognizable member of the group, appearing alongside Grohl in interviews and playing prominent roles in the band's videos.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He starred in Foo Fighters' recently released horror-comedy film, "Studio 666," in which a demonic force in a house the band is staying in seizes Grohl and makes him murderous.
Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters performs at Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival at The Park at Harlinsdale on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2019, in Franklin, Tenn. (Al Wagner/Invision/AP, File)
The band is currently touring South America and were set to play a show in Bogota, Colombia, on Friday night. Hawkins' final concert was Sunday at another festival in San Isidro, Argentina.
Hawkins' cause of death was not immediately reported.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Police vehicles, an ambulance and fans were gathered outside the hotel in northern Bogota where Hawkins was believed to have been staying.
Authorities in Colombia have not commented on Hawkins' death. The U.S. Embassy in Bogota expressed its condolences in a tweet.
Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, right, and Alison Hawkins arrive at the Clive Davis Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Saturday, Feb. 9, 2013, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Hawkins is survived by his wife and their three children. (Photo by John Shearer/Invision/AP, File)
Hawkins was Alanis Morrissette's touring drummer when he joined Foo Fighters in 1997. He played on the band's biggest albums including "One by One" and "On Your Honor," and on hit singles including "My Hero" and "Best of You."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In Grohl’s 2021 book "The Storyteller," he called Hawkins his "brother from another mother, my best friend, a man for whom I would take a bullet."
It’s the second time Grohl has experienced the death of a close bandmate. Grohl was the drummer for Nirvana when Kurt Cobain died in 1994.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Born Oliver Taylor Hawkins in Fort Worth Texas in 1972, Hawkins was raised in Laguna Beach, California. He played in the small Southern California band Sylvia before landing his first major gig as a drummer for Canadian singer Sass Jordan.
When he spent two years in the mid-1990s drumming for Morrissette, he was inspired primarily by the playing of Jane's Addiction's Stephen Perkins.
"My drums were set up like him, the whole thing," Hawkins told the AP. "I was still sort of a copycat at that point. It takes a while and takes a little while to sort of establish your own sort of style. I didn’t sound exactly like him, I sound like me, but he was a big, huge influence."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He and Grohl met backstage at a show when Hawkins was still with Morrissette. Grohl's band would have an opening soon after when then-drummer William Goldsmith left. Grohl called Hawkins, who was a huge Foo Fighters fan and immediately accepted.
Several legendary musicians expressed their sadness over the news.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Taylor Hawkins and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters perform on stage at GHMBA Stadium March 4, 2022, in Geelong, Australia. (Paul Rovere/The Age/Fairfax Media )
"God bless Taylor peace and love to all his family and the band peace and love," Ringo Starr tweeted.
The Smashing Pumpkins tweeted, "Taylor Hawkins 1972-2022. Our deepest sympathies to Taylor’s family, his fans, and of course his band."
"@TaylorHawkins was truly a great person and an amazing musician," Ozzy Osbourne wrote. "My heart, my love and my condolences go out to his wife, his children, his family, his band and his fans. See you on the other side - Ozzy."
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"God bless you Taylor Hawkins," Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello said on Twitter along with a photo of himself, Hawkins and Jane's Addiction singer Perry Ferrell. "I loved your spirit and your unstoppable rock power."
Taylor Hawkins performs onstage at the after party for the Los Angeles premiere of "Studio 666." (Photo by Rich Fury)
Hawkins is survived by his wife Alison and their three children.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Fox News' Mariah Haas and The Associated Press contributed to this report.