He was the drummer of the rock band Foo Fighters, with whom he recorded eight studio albums.
Hawkins recorded the drum tracks for the Coheed and Cambria album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow.
Hawkins and Grohl split drumming duties on Harmony & Dissidence, the third album by Foo Fighters bandmate Chris Shiflett's own side project, Jackson United.
He sang backing vocals on the Queen + Paul Rodgers single, "C-lebrity".
Along with the other members of Foo Fighters, Hawkins starred as himself in the comedy horror film Studio 666, released on February 25, 2022. He posthumously appears on select tracks on Ozzy Osbourne's 2022 album Patient Number 9. Hawkins said that his drumming was chiefly influenced by classic rock drummers, including Phil Collins of Genesis, Stewart Copeland of The Police whom he idolized and eventually befriended, Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees, Roger Taylor of Queen, Stephen Perkins of Jane's Addiction, Ringo Starr of The Beatles, Jim Gordon of Derek and the Dominos, Neil Peart of Rush, and Alex Van Halen of Van Halen. Hawkins was once guest editor of Rhythm and interviewed Collins, Copeland, Taylor, and Perkins for the issue. It was thanks to Rush that I got into Genesis. Not only hearing Phil Collins playing the drums, but also singing. He gets a really bad rap from some people for 'daring' to take over after Peter Gabriel quit, but you just hear the way he sounds here. Trick of the Tail, the first album Genesis did without Gabriel. Anyone who wants to be good on the drums should check him out – the man is a master. Hawkins's first two major inspirations were Roger Taylor and Stewart Copeland. He also mentioned that he would play along with songs on the radio or records, like Queen's News of the World, to enhance his skills when he was young. During his career, Hawkins used a variety of different brands including Ludwig Drums, Tama Drums, and most notably, Gretsch Drums which he endorsed and played from 2005 until his death. They lived in Hidden Hills, California, after moving from Topanga Canyon in 2012. Hawkins overdosed on heroin in August 2001, which left him in a coma for two weeks. Hawkins' bandmate and best friend, Dave Grohl, was beside his hospital bed in London for two weeks until he woke up. He also revealed in the 2011 documentary Foo Fighters: Back and Forth, that he wrote the song "On the Mend" from the band's 2005's album In Your Honor, about Hawkins while he was in a coma. Hawkins suffered from stage fright. Speaking about his health in a June 2021 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Hawkins said; "I'm healthy. Memorial outside the Four Seasons Casa Medina hotel, Bogotá, two days after Hawkins died there On March 25, 2022, Hawkins was in Bogotá, Colombia, where he was scheduled to perform with the Foo Fighters later that evening. Health personnel arrived and found Hawkins unresponsive; they performed CPR, but he was declared dead at the scene, at the age of 50. The following day, Colombian authorities announced that a preliminary urine toxicology test indicated that Hawkins had ten substances in his system at the time of his death, including opioids, benzodiazepines, tricyclic antidepressants, and THC. Colombia's National Institute of Forensic Medicine stated that they would "continue the medical studies to achieve total clarification of the events that led to the death of Taylor Hawkins", and the attorney general's office would continue to investigate his cause of death in a "timely manner". A May 2022 article from Andy Green and Kory Grow in Rolling Stone made the case that Hawkins was suffering from extreme exhaustion in the period leading up to his death, and allegedly asked that no more dates be added to the scheduled tour. However, two of the interviewees, Chad Smith and Matt Cameron, have since disavowed the article, stating that they were quoted out of context and that their comments were misrepresented. The Foo Fighters announced the death of Hawkins in a Twitter statement on March 25, writing that "His musical spirit and infectious laughter will live on with all of us forever." On the night of his death, Hawkins was scheduled to perform with the Foo Fighters at the Estéreo Picnic Festival in Bogotá as part of their ongoing South American tour. The festival stage was turned into a candlelight vigil for Hawkins. On June 8, 2022, the Foo Fighters and the family of Hawkins announced two shows in tribute to Hawkins. The first show, played at Wembley Stadium in London, took place on September 3, 2022. The Foo Fighters were joined by Travis Barker, Nandi Bushell, Martin Chambers, Chris Chaney, Dave Chappelle, Stewart Copeland, Josh Freese, Liam Gallagher, Omar Hakim, Justin Hawkins, Joshua Homme, Chrissie Hynde, The James Gang, Alain Johannes, Brian Johnson, John Paul Jones, Greg Kurstin, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson, Brian May, Paul McCartney, Chris Rock, Nile Rodgers, Mark Ronson, Sam Ryder, Luke Spiller, Supergrass, Roger Taylor, Rufus Taylor, Lars Ulrich, and Wolfgang Van Halen, plus members of Hawkins's cover band, Chevy Metal. The concert at Wembley Stadium was streamed live on YouTube and Paramount+, with a rerun being broadcast on CBS. The guest list reunited, in whole or in part, several of Hawkins' favorite bands including Queen and Rush. Some had not played together for a long time, including Dave Grohl's supergroup Them Crooked Vultures (12 years) and the James Gang (16 years). The second tribute concert, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California, took place on September 27, 2022, and featured Hawkins' bandmates as well as numerous guest artists. Returning from the London show were Barker, Copeland, Hakim, Homme, Johannes, Jones, Kurstin, Lee, Lifeson, May, Novoselic, Ronson, Smith, Spiller, Roger Taylor, Rufus Taylor, Ulrich, Van Halen, the James Gang, and Chevy Metal. Also appearing were Jack Black, Geezer Butler, Danny Carey, Phil Collen, Miley Cyrus, Joe Elliott, Joan Jett, Mark King, Tommy Lee, Alanis Morissette, Pink, Nikki Sixx, Chad Smith, Jon Theodore, Brad Wilk, Nancy Wilson, and Patrick Wilson.