Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins enjoyed one of the most extended and impactful runs among performers who emerged from the initial rockabilly surge originating in the American South during the 1950s. What distinguished his path was achieving iconic status far beyond U.S. borders. Although Arkansas-born, his strongest and longest-lasting acclaim took root in Canada, where he tirelessly toured clubs across many years, scored several hit singles, and fronted an ensemble that functioned as a rigorous training ground for numerous accomplished players, above all the five musicians later renowned as the Band. A capable vocalist yet exceptional showman, he delivered raw rockabilly energy while commanding audiences through an intense fusion of rock, R&B, blues, and country styles, enhanced by flamboyant dance routines and gymnastic stage maneuvers. His reputation, amplified by a talent for recounting exaggerated stories of onstage and offstage exploits, frequently surpassed the proof on his records, though strong tracks appear across his discography. The 1990 compilation The Best of Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks focuses on his vigorous late-'50s and early-'60s output, 2008's Ronnie Rocks revisits similar ground while adding select later cuts of merit, and the 1996 two-fer CD Rock & Roll Resurrection/The Giant of Rock & Roll presents two of his strongest 1970s comeback albums complete.

Born in Huntsville, Arkansas, on January 10, 1935, Ronnie Hawkins arrived just two days after fellow rockabilly Elvis Presley. His father worked as a barber and his mother as a schoolteacher. At age nine the family moved thirty miles to Fayetteville, where his father established a barbershop. The household included several active amateur musicians, his uncle Delmar "Skipper" Hawkins later joined Roy Rogers' group the Sons of the Pioneers, and his cousin Dale Hawkins achieved a major hit single in 1957 with "Suzie Q." Hawkins spent considerable time at the barbershop, where he encountered blues musician Buddy Hayes, who earned his living shining shoes and exposed the boy to Black music. At age eleven he began appearing publicly, including once at a Hank Williams concert. When the country star proved too intoxicated to perform, Hawkins joined several audience members invited to sing with the band. By his teenage years he had absorbed the diverse currents of Southern music and cultivated a taste for risk by running moonshine in a modified Model A Ford, sometimes earning as much as three hundred dollars daily.

Hawkins attended the University of Arkansas briefly, forming his first of several rock & roll groups there, and completed a short term in the United States Army, where he directed a racially integrated combo called the Black Hawks during an era when such ensembles were rare. The saxophonist A.C. Reed later became a staple of the Chicago blues scene and spent years in Albert Collins' touring band. Demos recorded for Sun Records went unnoticed, yet guitarist Luke Paulman of the label's house band recognized Hawkins' ability and together they assembled the Hawks, who blazed through the South with high-octane rock while Hawkins captivated crowds via backflips, somersaults, and exuberant dance moves. The lineup included bassist George Paulman, Luke's brother, pianist Willard "Pop" Jones, and teenage drummer Levon Helm from Turkey Scratch, Arkansas, whose parents required him to finish high school before permitting him to join. During this period of relentless one-nighters, an acquaintance named Harold Jenkins, succeeding under the name Conway Twitty, informed Hawkins of strong demand for capable rock ensembles in Canada following his own recent tour there. Initially skeptical, Hawkins soon verified the claim; the Hawks found enthusiastic crowds for their vigorous style in Toronto and began spending several months annually performing across Canadian clubs.

In 1959 Hawkins secured a Roulette Records contract, and his debut single "Forty Days," modeled on Chuck Berry's "Thirty Days," backed with "Mary Lou," reached number 26 on the singles chart. The success raised their performance fees, enabling Hawkins & the Hawks to maintain an intense touring schedule across the South, Midwest, and Canada, sufficient to upgrade from a Chevrolet to a Cadillac. By the time he recorded his first Roulette album, Ronnie Hawkins, the band had settled in Toronto; after a second Roulette release, 1959's Mr. Dynamo, sidemen appeared intermittently on sessions, though the label steered him toward unconventional efforts such as 1960's The Folk Ballads of Ronnie Hawkins and 1962's Sings the Songs of Hank Williams.

As original Hawks members departed, Hawkins recruited replacements from local talent. By 1964, the year of his final Roulette album, the uneven yet spirited Mojo Man, he had become a permanent Canadian resident while retaining U.S. citizenship; the group now featured guitarist Robbie Robertson, bassist Rick Danko, pianist Richard Manuel, organist Garth Hudson, and drummer Levon Helm. Countless road weeks and long residencies at Toronto's Le Coq d'Or Tavern on Yonge Street had refined the Hawks into a top-tier rock & roll unit. A live recording of this configuration, Live at Fayetteville High School 1962: Vol. 1, appeared in 2021.

The Hawks proved capable enough that, after several engagements Hawkins missed, they struck out independently as Levon and the Hawks. In 1965 Bob Dylan recruited them as his touring band following his shift to electric performance; although Helm temporarily withdrew amid British resistance to Dylan's amplified sound, he rejoined once the group relocated to Woodstock, New York, and after extended rehearsals with Dylan they evolved into the Band, among the era's most acclaimed rock ensembles.

While his former bandmates ascended, Hawkins maintained steady Canadian performances, his group serving as an incubator for emerging players across the North. Future blues figure Roy Buchanan, hard-rock guitarist Pat Travers, Stan Szelest of Neil Young and Garland Jeffreys' bands, plus several members of Janis Joplin's Full Tilt Boogie Band and the Canadian blues-boogie outfit Crowbar all gained early experience supporting Hawkins. When John Lennon and Yoko Ono arrived in Toronto for their peace campaign, Hawkins hosted them at his estate, "Mortgage Manor," and participated in their efforts, later noting appreciation for Lennon's presence yet regret over unpaid long-distance calls. As the Band's fame expanded, so did Hawkins' visibility, aided by his relish for recounting vivid anecdotes of their shared road history during interviews.

Atlantic's Cotillion imprint signed Hawkins in 1970; with producers Tom Dowd and Jerry Wexler he recorded Ronnie Hawkins, backed by Duane Allman and the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. A second Cotillion album, 1971's The Hawk, again paired him with elite Southern session musicians including Donald "Duck" Dunn and Jim Dickinson, and the single "Patricia" climbed to number two on Canada's Adult Contemporary chart. Friendship with Kris Kristofferson led to a Monument Records deal. 1972's Rock & Roll Resurrection centered on classics by Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Fats Domino, and other pioneering rock figures, while 1974's The Giant of Rock & Roll blended rock oldies with material from contemporary writers such as Gordon Lightfoot and Jesse Winchester. During this span Hawkins contributed a vocal cameo to a 1973 album by Xaviera Hollander, the former madam who authored a best-selling memoir and appeared in several low-budget films.

After Cotillion and Monument releases failed to expand his audience, Hawkins concentrated on live dates, frequently performing at his Toronto club, though he took notable film roles. Bob Dylan cast him as "Bob Dylan" in the experimental Renaldo & Clara, filmed in 1975 and released in 1978, and he performed a spirited "Who Do You Love" in Martin Scorsese's 1978 documentary The Last Waltz, recorded at the Band's November 1976 farewell concert. A United Artists contract yielded 1979's The Hawk, produced by Keith Alison. The following year he appeared briefly yet memorably as Major Wolcott in Michael Cimino's historical drama Heaven's Gate, another United Artists production.

The Canadian Quality label issued A Legend in His Spare Time in 1981, one of Hawkins' self-mocking slogans, featuring a cover of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "(Stuck In) Lodi" that reached Canada's Top Ten. The next year The Hawk and Rock captured a United Kingdom tour where British rockabilly enthusiasts celebrated him as a hero. In 1984 Hawkins signed with Epic Records Canada for the country-oriented Making It Again, which earned a Juno Award for Best Country Vocalist; 1987's Hello Again...Mary Lou offered an energetic session split between rock and roll sides. Unlike its predecessor, Hello Again...Mary Lou appeared internationally via European and Dutch labels, though neither edition reached the United States. His autobiography, Last of the Good Ol' Boys, was published in 1989.

By the early 1990s Hawkins continued regular Canadian performances as a Toronto rock & roll icon, yet prudent investments had rendered him financially secure, allowing him to make music purely for enjoyment. In 1995 he marked his sixtieth birthday with a Massey Hall concert featuring Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Jeff Healey, and members of the Band. The Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences presented him a Special Achievement honor in 1996 for contributions to Canadian music; the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers awarded a lifetime achievement recognition in 2007. Hawkins released his final album, The Hawk, on his own label in 2002, with guest appearances by Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, and Kris Kristofferson. That year also brought health challenges: quadruple heart bypass surgery followed months later by an operation for pancreatic cancer. Live appearances grew less frequent, yet he recorded occasionally when inspired; in 2016 he tracked material at home with Gordon Lightfoot and Kris Kristofferson, yielding the digital single "Me and Bobby McGee." Ronnie Hawkins died on May 29, 2022, at his Peterborough, Ontario, home at age 87 following a prolonged illness. In his memoirs he summarized his career thus: "Ninety percent of what I made went to women, whiskey, drugs and cars. I guess I just wasted the other ten percent."