It’s a critical moment in Foo Fighters’ set at the packed Rock am Ring festival, but Dave Grohl is in trouble. He tries to sing his most iconic power ballad “Times Like These,” but his voice is completely blown out. He struggles through the vocal part, and he’s hurting a whole lot. He looks at Taylor Hawkins behind the drum kit, and Dave doesn’t even need to say a word. Taylor knows exactly what to do. The drummer begins singing the lead vocals, saving his brother.
Taylor doesn’t even know all the lyrics, but the crowd helps him out. He then gets into the swing of the vocals and closes out the slow verse, kicking into the powerhouse outro. The smile Dave and Taylor shared in that moment was so sweet. The Music Man has to say when a band has a brotherhood like that, the moments they can create onstage are just magical.
Fan channel Nitotosi uploaded the “Times Like These” performance to YouTube, where it hit two million views. The performance was bittersweet for fans, knowing that Taylor is gone, but they loved to see the duo’s bond and added comments like “Dave relied on Taylor. When Dave couldn’t do it, Taylor was ALWAYS there. Taylor’s heart and soul will ALWAYS be there” and “I love how Dave at one point looks back at Taylor like… I’m in trouble… and Taylor just sings. Didn’t skip a beat. It was flawless. RIP Taylor.”
A number of the most iconic Taylor moments feature the legendary drummer stepping out from behind the kit to front Foo Fighters. The band gave a blistering performance of Led Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” with Taylor on the mic. Dave absolutely clobbered the drum kit while Taylor wailed like Robert Plant. The performance was an especially special one as they gave it in honor of Led Zeppelin at the Kennedy Center Honors, with the English rock legends sitting there watching with big smiles on their faces.
Foo Fighters released “Times Like These” on January 6, 2003, as the second single from their fourth album One by One. The Music Man readers might be interested to hear that the album is notable in the history of the Foo Fighters, as it was the first album that Taylor played drums on every single song.
Dave and Taylor co-wrote “Times Like These” with their bandmates Nate Mendel and Chris Shiflett. Dave’s lyrics address how he felt “like I wasn’t entirely myself” during the three-month hiatus the band took after their first attempt at recording One by One. The initial recording sessions were tense, and the band was unsatisfied with the results. The lyrics also discuss how Dave wasn’t sure if Foo Fighters would continue at the time.
Eventually, the band regrouped to record One by One in early 2002, and successfully recorded the album at Dave’s home studio in Alexandria, Virginia. The new tracklisting featured 7 out of 11 new songs that were written after the first abandoned album sessions, including “Times Like These.”