How Ozzy Osbourne recruited Taylor Hawkins to work with him
One of the final projects undertaken by the late Taylor Hawkins before his death was drumming for Ozzy Osbourne. Although the former Black Sabbath singer was impressed by Hawkins’ talent, staggeringly, he had never heard of him before their collaboration.
The person to thank for the collision of rock giants is producer Andrew Watt, who was on the mixing desk for Osbourne’s latest album, Patient Number 9. The record was a return to form for Ozzy and landed him a nomination for ‘Best Rock Album’ at the Grammys. Osbourne collaborated with a series of star-studded names for the album, with Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Josh Homme, and many more featuring alongside Hawkins.
The drumming on the album was predominantly carried out by Hawkins and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith. Although the late Foo’s founder contributed to fewer tracks than his fellow drummer, he left a strong impression on Osbourne. Understandably, he was devastated when Hawkins passed away last March and said: “[Taylor Hawkins] was truly a great person and an amazing musician. 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.”
Opening up to Stereogum about the collaboration, Osbourne explained: “My producer Andrew Watt, he was a really good friend of his. I wasn’t even aware that Dave Grohl had a drummer because Dave Grohl was a drummer himself. I knew he sang up front, but I didn’t know that much about Foo Fighters at the time. I knew of them.”
Ozzy continued: “I went down to the studio one day, and Taylor was there, and he was a really nice guy. He was a cheerful kind of a guy, you know. And I spent a few hours with him. I didn’t get to know him that well, but from those few hours, he seemed like a really nice guy.”
Despite being aware of Foo Fighters, Ozzy didn’t know about Hawkins until Watt mentioned his name and brought him into the studio. Osbourne recollected to Kerrang (via MusicNews): “To be perfectly honest with you, I’d never heard of him before he played on my album. But he must be good to play with Dave Grohl’s Foo Fighters. When I met him, and from what I saw of him, he was a really nice man, one whose soul will surely last. I should imagine that everyone in that band was f****** devastated when the poor guy passed away.”
While Hawkins only featured on four songs on Patient Number 9, excitingly, he recorded plenty more material with Osbourne, which will be released posthumously. The details remain sparse about the project, but Watt told Rolling Stone: “There’s a bunch of other stuff with Ozzy and Taylor, as well, that’s going to be used for another thing.”
It is heartbreaking that Hawkins did not live to see his work from Osbourne be released and witness the love it received. However, the magnificent work left behind by the late musician will ensure Hawkins’ legacy is maintained, and he will continue to be remembered as a master of his craft.
