As we wrote early Saturday morning, news broke that the drummer for Foo Fighters, Taylor Hawkins, has passed away far too young — at age 50. And as often happens when a famous performer passes, videos immediately began circulating, as fans and other admirers remember him.

He apparently was a huge fan of Queen. But, as Mark Davis noted in a tweet, Hawkins eventually “became great friends” with the band’s iconic drummer, Roger Taylor. Indeed, one of the top videos circulating in the wake of Hawkins’ death is from Taylor’s Instagram account page, just about two years ago, in a video of him giving some tips on drumming.

"When I was ten, I wanted to be #RogerTaylor; I wanted to be in #Queen." They became great friends; here on Roger's IG, #TaylorHawkins spent some pandemic time teaching folks a 4/4 beat with a fill: https://t.co/UpMXGIGxK4

— Mark Davis (@MarkDavis) March 26, 2022

But watch it closely. I noticed something truly touching happening in the video (viewable in the YouTube clip, below) that has nothing to do with Hawkins’ musical life — and everything to do with his life offstage.

If you watch along the left-hand side of the screen,  there’s a bittersweet surprise; one of his kids can just barely be seen, hanging out with dad. It serves as a reminder that, in the end, no one’s just a rock star or a celebrity. As my colleague Jerry Wilson wrote in his obituary piece:

His loss for Foo Fighters’ millions of fans across the globe is impossible to overstate. It is incomparable to what his family, friends, and bandmates are currently going through.

But here’s a silver lining. It appears Hawkins continued to do what he loved, up to the last drop of life. Just over a week ago, Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl invited him to take center stage to sing Queen’s “Somebody To Love” during their concert (March 18th, Lollapalooza – Chile).

Enjoy!

Warning: video contains coarse language.