Heart’s Nancy Wilson has released a song in tribute to the late Taylor Hawkins.
The 68-year-old rocker has been asked by the Foo Fighters to perform the moving track, ‘Amigo Amiga’, which is named after the pet names the close friends gave each other, at the Los Angeles memorial concert at the Kia Forum this evening (27.09.22).
The pals had featured on each other’s music, with Nancy appearing on Taylor’s third and final Taylor Hawkins and The Coattail Riders LP ‘Get The Money’ in 2019.
The drummer returned the favour by playing on Nancy’s debut solo album ‘You and Me’ last year, on the track ‘Party at the Angel Ballroom’ with Guns N’ Roses’ Duff McKagan.
Distraught Nancy started penning the emotional ode on the day Taylor was found dead in his hotel room in Bogota, Colombia, aged 50, on March 25.
She said: “The night we heard about losing Taylor I started writing the song,” Wilson said of the new song in a statement. “I heard myself in tears saying ‘too soon too soon’ which became a refrain in the song. I spent quite a few sleepless nights trying to express it all. He was a wonderful friend and we always had funny pet names for each other like Amigo and Amiga as well as Luv and Dahling. I sang on his great solo album Get the Money at his home studio and later he returned the favor and played drums on my solo album.
“It is such a painful loss — but it also feels like Taylor has galvanized and re-energized rock and roll with so many of his musician friends and fans coming together — it’s a new renaissance Taylor and the Foo family have gifted us all. (sic)”
Money raised from streams of the single will go to the Recording Academy’s MusiCares non-profit, which offers support to musicians facing financial, personal, or medical crisis.
Nancy is part of a star-studded bill of rock and roll royalty who will perform at the second tribute show, following the London edition earlier this month.
The lineup also includes Alanis Morissette, Mark Ronson, Miley Cyrus, Joan Jett, The Darkness’ Justin Hawkins, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, Blink-182’s Travis Barker, and many more.