On March 25, 2022 the world unexpectedly lost the great Taylor Hawkins. The news seemed to stun the music and entertainment industries alike, and it was almost as if the world seemed to stand still in its tracks.
Taylor Hawkins was best known as the drummer for the highly successful rock band, Foo Fighters - joining in 1997 and playing on every one of their records going forward up until his untimely and tragic passing. In addition to his legendary career with Foo Fighters, Hawkins also played for Alanis Morissette as her touring drummer for a few years and had even recorded an album with Coheed & Cambria.
On the 2nd anniversary of Hawkins' passing I wanted to look back and commemorate some of his most memorable drum parts. Now of course there's just too many to list here and every song he played on had something to remember in it, but for the purpose of this article I will solely be focusing on some of his best parts with Foo Fighters.
Source: Kevin Winter
Rope
Perhaps one of his most technical drum parts, “Rope” is a consistently moving song from start to finish and stylistically, this is some of Hawkins' best work. What especially stands out in this song is his miniature drum solo that includes fast-paced triplets combined with tasteful cymbal accents, and of course, some beloved cowbell. Hawkins does a good job at giving the listener just enough time to breathe before hitting them with an outstanding drum fill once again during this section of the song, before guiding us back to the triumphant final chorus. Not to mention, we all love the Neil Peart-esque ride bell pattern during the choruses of this song which just makes it that much more fun to listen and jam out to.
Best of You
If there's one thing that very few drummers have mastered, it's telling a story through their playing. Taylor does just this on Foo Fighters' 2003 hit, “Best of You”. Not only do his parts perfectly suit the song, but he conveys such a raw power and emotion with his part that you can't help but air drum along. A lot of what makes “Best of You” such a dramatic song has to do with Taylor's drum part that continues to accelerate and build momentum throughout the song's 4 minute runtime, ending with some blazing fills across the drums to finish things off.
Low
A workout in and of itself, “Low” is not only a great workout for any drummer's legs, but their arms as well. Not stopping for even a slight moment, Hawkins keeps a fast-paced energy throughout this song similar to a hurricane of drums. Switching between a rolling tom pattern to a breakbeat-like hi-hat pattern, Hawkins keeps us on our toes throughout the entirety of the song and is a testament to his superhuman endurance as a performer.
Stacked Actors
A great example of Taylor Hawkins' incredible dynamics control, “Stacked Actors” demonstrates his ability to serve the song and tell a story with his playing. Starting with a classic, hard-hitting rock and roll intro, the song progresses to a bossa nova pattern, before coming back in with some great, powerful rock drums. Hawkins switches between these two styles throughout the song which just shows how versatile of a drummer he was and his precise control of dynamics.
Dear Rosemary
Yet another song off of Wasting Light, “Dear Rosemary” instantly demonstrates Hawkins' iconic drumming style with his swung drum fills to lead us into the song. What really stands out however is his versatile hi-hat work throughout this song. Through various sections of the song, Hawkins manages to add slight, subtle changes to his hi-hat pattern that distinguishes each part of the song and helps to build up the momentum. These subtleties make it some of his most unique drumming, and also some of his most underrated.
The Pretender
If there's one example of what a “perfect” rock and roll drum part should sound like, then look no further than “The Pretender”. This has every characteristic of what makes a drum part memorable and it manages to keep pace with the song, as any part should do. Beginning with a fairly straightforward quarter-note snare pattern, Hawkins then switches over to the hi-hat before building into an absolutely ripping chorus. It also seems as if Hawkins' drums and Dave Grohl's voice on this song are competing with each other to establish dominance over the listener's attention. Finally, Hawkins builds the bridge on this song in such a way as to build suspense before unleashing a fury of drums for the final chorus to close out the song.
Making A Fire
One of Hawkins' last recordings with the band, “Making A Fire” is the first song off of Foo Fighters' last full-length album with Taylor Hawkins on it, Medicine At Midnight. It has such a unique drum part and it's one of those that has you sitting back thinking: “Damn, I wish I wrote that”. This song really shows a lot of the band's roots and inspirations, and that is especially true for Hawkins' drum part on it. This song has a funky feel to it, combined with some pocket and groove driven drum patterns that blends all of his distinctive influences together.
Learn To Fly
One of Foo Fighters' most popular and iconic songs ever, Hawkins perfectly served the song on “Learn To Fly” and established himself as THE drummer for Foo Fighters. Being that this was his first album to record as a whole with the band, there was definitely some pressure going into the recording process that Hawkins even spoke about himself. This song was one of the first to gain traction and attention for the band, and with that it helped to establish Taylor Hawkins as an influential drummer in his own right. Although this song is pretty straightforward in terms of technicality, there's no denying that this song really cemented Taylor within the band and his drum part really does its job on this song with giving us an easy-listening and lighthearted experience from start to finish.
All My Life
“All My Life” is not just one of Foo Fighters' hardest hitting songs, it is also one of Taylor's as well. From the moment he starts playing you can just feel the power and aggression that goes into his drumming. Combine that energy with some intrinsic quick stops throughout the verses and a unique ride pattern throughout the choruses, and you're destined to have one of the most popular drum parts of all time. Additionally, as in “The Pretender”, Hawkins does a proficient job at building up the bridge of this song - eventually tearing through the fabric of the rock and roll spacetime continuum to give us a minute of pure glory and aggression on the drums to close out the song.
Come Back
Undeniably one of Hawkins' most underrated drum parts (and for that matter, one of Foo Fighters' most underrated songs ever), this song almost doesn't even sound like a “typical” Foo Fighters song. Coming in at a whopping 7:47 runtime, this is a big change from the Foo's typical short, energetic rock songs. There's just so much to unpack with this song and it changes from a chugging four-on-the-floor tom part to some classic rock and roll drums, down to an acoustic interlude part. Finally, the song comes back into some truly impressive fills and rolls from Hawkins, followed by a return to the original floor tom pattern as the song fades out. This is truly one of their most distinctive songs and by far one of Taylor's most unique parts in his lengthy career.
Taylor's Legacy
Although Taylor is no longer with us, his spirit and love for music remains. He exemplified what it meant to be a drummer and more so, what it meant to be a musician. His passion for the songs he wrote and the notes he played touched the hearts, souls, and minds of millions across the globe, and he managed to establish himself as one of the most well-known and studied drummers, despite his short 47 years of life.
When writing this blog post I found it extremely difficult to narrow down his “best” drum parts to just 10 - when, if you look at his career, we all know that everything he did had its own unique touch to it. His feel was unmatched and his grooves were irreplaceable during those 25 years he was with Foo Fighters. For anyone reading, I highly encourage you to sit down and watch some of his live performances over the years, listen to his albums, read his interviews, and jam out to his music - as there's something to be learned from all of them. His legacy continues to grace us today and will continue to grace generations of music fans and musicians alike to come.