When did Taylor Hawkins join Foo Fighters? Dave Grohl and band makes emotional return to LA after drummer's demise

As per an exclusive from TMZ, Dave Grohl and the remaining members of the Foo Fighters band return to the US after Taylor Hawkins’ untimely death in Bogota, Colombia. The publication shared pictures of the bandmates and crew hugging each other.

These pictures showcased Dave Grohl, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Samantha Sidley, and John Silva, amongst the other crew members being visibly emotional after touching down at Los Angeles.

The Foo Fighters drummer Hawkins passed away at the age of 50 in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia on Friday. At the time, the band was scheduled to perform at the Estereo Picnic Festival and were later slated to be one of the headlining artists/groups to perform at the Lollapalooza Brazil on Sunday.

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Taylor Hawkins’ legacy with the Foo Fighters

Early in his career, Hawkins was associated with a California-based local band Sylvia, before performing with British-Canadian rockstar Sarah "Sass" Jordan in the early 1990s. Later, the Texan native played drums for Alanis Morissette from the mid-1990s to 1997. Prior to joining the Foo Fighters, Morissette was one of the biggest artists Taylor Hawkins had worked with.

After coming fresh out of Nirvana following the death of grunge-rock icon Kurt Cobain, Grohl formed the Foo Fighters in 1994. However, a dispute between Grohl and former drummer William Goldsmith caused the latter to leave the band. This was when Grohl approached Hawkins to join the Foo Fighters.

Following Goldsmith’s departure, Hawkins was reportedly announced to be the new member of the band on March 18, 1997 (around 25 years before the drummers’ unfortunate demise). As per Absolutely Foobulous! by Alan di Perna, published in Guitar World in 1997, Grohl was initially unsure if Hawkins would join the Foo Fighters as the drummer was associated with Morissette at the time, who was a bigger artist.

However, Taylor Hawkins surprised Grohl when he decided to join the Foo Fighters. At the time, Hawkins reportedly elaborated that he preferred being associated with a rock band as a drummer than with the solo act of Morissette.

Regarding the time of his joining at the Foo Fighters, Hawkins told RadioX in 2017:

“I remember that I was watching Showgirls at the time, in my rented house up in Topanga Canyon. And Dave called to say, you wanna be in Foo Fighters?”

Hawkins further added:

“I’ll forever in my mind have Showgirls and the phone call from Dave saying you’re in the Foo Fighters linked together, which is amazing. It’s a perfect day.”

After Hawkins joined the Foo Fighters, he had been associated with the production with one EP and more than eight studio albums. His last project with the band remains their tenth album, 2021’s Medicine at Midnight.