Rock titan Taylor Hawkins tragically passed away last month, and his first posthumous release is a cover of Johnny Winter’s “Guess I’ll Go Away.” He recorded the song shortly before his death for Edgar Winter’s new tribute album to his late sibling, Brother Johnny.
Hawkins sings lead vocals on the track from the 1970 album Johnny Winter And, with Doug Rappoport on guitar and Edgar playing the organ. Hawkins puts a sinful vocal fry on the opening, “Hey!” and approaches the melody with a mix of hair metal glam and hard rock grind.
“We wanted a younger, more energetic, modern approach to the vocal,” Edgar wrote on his website. “Our engineer, mixer, and producer (Ross Hogarth) had worked extensively with Taylor and they were very close friends. When Ross suggested Taylor (being such a huge Foo Fighters fan) I said WOW — how perfect. And I know Doug [Rappoport] will be absolutely thrilled.”
He added, “I had only just met Taylor, and barely got to know him, but I was so impressed by his sincerity, positive energy, and pure enthusiasm. He had a unique spontaneous style different from anyone I’ve ever worked with before. I can be very opinionated — but as soon as heard what he was doing, I knew it was best to step back, stay out of the way, and let him do his thing. That session was an experience I will never forget.
