Miley Cyrus Shares Voicemail From Taylor Hawkins Telling Her to Cover Def Leppard’s ‘Photograph’
One of the highlights of Tuesday's Taylor Hawkins Tribute Concert was when Miley Cyrus came out to join Def Leppard on a cover of the band's "Photograph." But this was no mere guest spot, as Cyrus revealed online that her covering "Photograph" was actually the idea of the late Foo Fighters drummer himself.
Cyrus shared a voice mail message she had saved from Hawkins in which he called her to let her know he heard she was moving. In it, Hawkins was listening to the classic Def Leppard Pyromania cut and encouraging Cyrus to learn the song and cover it.
"A personal request from the legend himself. #TaylorHawkins my friend, my idol…. My neighbor," wrote Cyrus. "Growing up on a farm I never could see the light of another house nearby, but living by Taylor for the years that I did out in LA were some of the most fun times of my life."
The audio file finds Hawkins telling the singer, "What up Miley, it's Taylor. Heard you're moving. Waaah. I'm listening to 'Photograph' by Def Leppard. You could kill that one. Make sure you learn that."
She went on to add, "I miss Taylor so much like everybody else. It was such an honor to celebrate him last night and perform w @DefLeppard. So lucky to have known him not just as a superstar but to have spent time watching him just be a dad and a husband!" She then offered video from her performance with Def Leppard, members of Foo Fighters and Weezer drummer Pat Wilson, commenting, "Last night was the most special way to remember the MOST special person! @foofighters forever."
Cyrus was on tour in South America when Hawkins died in Bogota, Colombia on March 25. It was a trying few days for the singer. Just prior, Cyrus had suffered altitude sickness and her plane was struck by lightning en route to her performances. Upon landing, Hawkins was the first person she spoke with.
Suffering from bronchitis, Cyrus forged ahead with her tour plans and while performing at Lollapalooza Brazil she honored the drummer with the song "Angels Like You."
"[Tonight's] show is in honor of my friend Taylor Hawkins. The most [badass] dude I know who would want me to shine and sing LOUD for the love of rock n roll! I’ve got this with a little help from my friend TH above & all of you. Let’s do it," stated Cyrus, later shedding tears while adding, "I would have done anything to hang out with him one more time."
Tuesday's Taylor Hawkins Tribute Show at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles was the second such event scheduled to honor the late drummer. It included performances from Rush's Geddy Lee and Alex Lifeson with Dave Grohl, Danny Carey and Chad Smith, Sebastian Bach with Lars Ulrich and Geezer Butler, Wolfgang Van Halen with Grohl, Justin Hawkins and Josh Freese and plenty more. See the full setlist here.