Saturday night brought another memorable tribute to Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, from fellow music star Elton John.
John took a minute at his show in Des Moines, Iowa, to remember Hawkins, whose shocking death was announced on Friday (March 25), and to dedicate his classic song “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” to him.
“I got up this morning to see that Taylor Hawkins from the Foo Fighters had passed away,” John, performing at Des Moines’ Wells Fargo Arena on his “Farewell” tour, told the audience. “And I was so shocked because he played on my Lockdown Sessions album and he was one of the nicest people you could’ve ever met.”
“And one of the greatest drummers and a true musician who loved all sorts of music and loved life,” he added of Hawkins.
“And it seems so sad that at 50 years of age we’ve lost someone who had that much passion. And it makes me so downhearted for his family — his three children, his wife, his other relatives and, of course, the Foo Fighters, who’ve lost a dearest loved one that can never, ever be replaced,” said John.
“His music will live on,” he noted just before telling the crowd that the next song on his set list, “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down On Me,” was “for him, and his family, and his wife and his children.”
Hawkins died at the age of 50 in Bogotá, Colombia, where he was set to perform at Festival Estéreo Picnic with the Foo Fighters. His cause of death has not yet been confirmed.
Miley Cyrus also dedicated a song to Hawkins on Saturday night at Lollapalooza Brazil, where she tearfully said, “I would’ve done anything to hang out with him one more time.” She performed her ballad “Angels Like You” for her late friend.
Watch John’s performance of “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” in dedication to Taylor Hawkins below.
