Through the 2022 Grammys, the ceremony took a second to pay tribute to Taylor Hawkins of the Foo Fighters in a second that celebrated the life and legacy of rock’s ‘hero’ drummer.
The sixty fourth Annual Grammy Awards happened within the lengthy, chilly shadow of tragedy. As music’s finest and brightest gathered for the Apr. 4 occasion, one individual lacking was Taylor Hawkins, the beloved drummer for the Foo Fighters who handed away on the age of fifty on March 26. Although Taylor was gone, he was removed from forgotten. Together with Billie Eilish giving like to Taylor throughout her Grammys efficiency, the ceremony devoted a second to Taylor earlier than the In Memoriam section.
The Grammy Awards @RecordingAcad pays tribute to the legendary Taylor Hawkins of @foofighters ❤️ pic.twitter.com/L8mtyFABsg
— HJS ⎊ (@Hotlen_) April 4, 2022
Through the non-televised portion of the Grammys, the Foo Fighters gained three awards: they took residence Finest Rock Efficiency for “Making A Fireplace,” Finest Rock Track for “Ready on a Battle,” and Finest Rock Album for Medication at Midnight.
And the GRAMMY for Finest Rock Efficiency goes to – "Making A Fireplace" @foofighters🤘
WATCH NOW 🎶: https://t.co/iZP2mSPJkJ#GRAMMYPremiere#GRAMMYspic.twitter.com/oNXatpWSf4
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) April 3, 2022
The world discovered of Taylor’s passing by way of an announcement that the band put out on social media. “The Foo Fighters household is devastated by the tragic and premature lack of our beloved Taylor Hawkins. His musical spirit and infectious laughter will reside on with all of us ceaselessly,” the assertion learn. “Our hearts exit to his spouse, kids, and household, and we ask that their privateness be handled with the utmost respect on this unimaginably troublesome time.”
Foo Fighters had been scheduled to headline the Pageant Estereo Picnic in Bogotá, Colombia, adopted by a headlining slot at Lollapalooza Brasil on Sunday. The efficiency was canceled simply as followers had been gathering. “We had been stepping into place after they introduced that the Foo Fighters wouldn't be performing,” Romeo Reyes, a concertgoer, informed CNN, “however they didn’t say why. About 10 minutes later, the information broke that Taylor had died.”
The reason for Taylor’s dying wasn’t made identified, however Colombia’s Lawyer Normal’s Workplace launched a preliminary “forensic medical examine” on Sunday (Mar. 27), per CNN. The report stated a urine toxicology check was carried out and ten substances had been discovered, together with THC, tricyclic antidepressants, benzodiazepines, and opioids. The investigation remains to be ongoing. What is identified is that Taylor, in his quick time on this earth, touched numerous of lives together with his music and larger-than-life persona.
Taylor’s dying despatched ripples of grief all through the music world. Miley Cyrus, the opposite headliner at Lollapalooza Brasil, devoted her efficiency of “Angels Like You” to Taylor. Throughout her set, she spoke about how her airplane needed to make an emergency touchdown after it was struck by lighting. “The primary person who I known as was Taylor, as a result of he was already on the competition,” she stated, as she held again tears. “That will’ve been a time that I'd’ve gone to see my pal, and I didn’t, so it makes me actually unhappy. I'd’ve performed something to hang around with him yet one more time.”
Artists Ozzy Osbourne to Tom Morello to Questlove to Finneas all mourned the tragic lack of a superb musician and beloved pal. Travis Barker, who was enlisted to play as a part of the Academy Awards All-Star Band, wrote that he didn’t “have the phrases” upon listening to the information of his pal’s dying. “I’ll always remember Laguna Seaside days after I was a trash man taking part in in a punk rock band and also you had been taking part in with Alanis [Morissette.] You’d come watch me play in dive bars and be like, ‘child you’re a star.’ And I assumed you had been loopy however you gave me a lot hope and dedication…. To say I’ll miss you my pal isn’t sufficient. Until the following time we speak drums and smoke within the boys room … Relaxation In Peace.”
“Not solely was he a GREAT drummer however his persona was massive and glossy and can be sorely missed by all who had been fortunate to reside and work alongside him,” wrote Sir Paul McCartney in his tribute to his pal. “So thanks Taylor for sharing some superb minutes with me. You had been a real Rock and Roll hero and can at all times stay in my coronary heart.”
Within the weeks following Hawkins’ dying, the world mirrored on simply the scope of what it had misplaced. “Taylor Hawkins understood the mechanics and historical past of the [rock] style and his place in it but additionally — and that is each bit as essential — the best way to by no means let it go to his head,” wrote Craig Jenkins for Vulture. Kerrang’s obituary celebrated him as a “wild gentle blinding shiny,” a “true one-of-a-kind” soul. When the Crimson Sizzling Chili Peppers had been introduced with a star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame, drummer Chad Smith – who shared a tribute video to Taylor – honored his beloved pal. “I've to offer a shout out to my brother Taylor Hawkins, who I like and we are going to all miss a lot,” he stated, per the Unbiased. “He would chortle and make a pleasant sensible a– remark about this entire factor, and I like him.”