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Ronnie
Hawkins Biography |
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Ronnie Hawkins was
born in Huntsville, Arkansas, on January 10, 1935,
two days after Elvis Presley was born. His mother
was a teacher and his father was a barber. The
family moved to nearby Fayetteville, Arkansas, when
Ronnie was nine years old.
During high
school, Ronnie served in the National Guard, which
was mandatory for all at that time, yet he still had
time to dabble in his first love: music. He knew
music was his life when the unapproachable girls
swooned for his singing. When he graduated from high
school, he enrolled at the University of Arkansas in
Fayetteville, majoring in physical education. It was
there that he formed his first band, The Hawks, and
toured with them regionally in Arkansas, Oklahoma
and Missouri.
After
attending college, Ronnie joined the Army and served
six months of active duty. He attended basic
training at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, for three months
and was then moved to Fort Sill in Oklahoma. This
was his home for the next three months where he went
into special services. During this time, Ronnie
continued pursuing his passion for music, often
performing for Officers' Clubs. He eventually heard
from other musicians about a man named A.C. Reed. It
was Reed that took a young, naive Ronnie under his
wing with his band, The Black Hawks.
After the
Army, Ronnie received a phone call from Memphis and
was offered $100/week to front a band of musicians
at Sam Phillips' Sun Studios. He bragged to everyone
at home about this and left for Memphis. But, by the
time he got there, the band had broken up. According
to the union then, the leader of the band made twice
the money than the rest of the band, and the members
couldn't agree on who would be the leader. After
bragging so much back home, Ronnie was afraid to
return to Fayetteville
He heard that
one of the most respected guitarists at the time,
Jimmy Ray Paulman, wanted to put a band together,
and Ronnie was happy to join. Paulman's first
cousin, Will 'Pop' Jones, played piano in the band,
and he knew of a kid from Marvell, Arkansas, who
sang and played guitar at several local county and
state fairs. His name was Levon Helm. Even though he
wasn't a drummer, Levon stated that he had always
wanted to try the drums. Now the band had a drummer.
They played regionally until Levon graduated from
high school.
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2 yr old
Ronnie Hawkins
Private Ronnie
Hawkins
Ronnie Hawkins
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One of the venues
they performed at was the Rockwood Club in
Fayetteville, which Ronnie owned and operated.
Musicians who played there included Jerry Lee Lewis,
Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and a fellow named Harold
Jenkins (whom eventually became famous as Conway
Twitty). Harold told Ronnie that Canada was the
promised land for a rock 'n' roll singer. So Ronnie
took his band to Canada, touring along the way and
busting club records everywhere.
Ronnie's fame
grew quickly. Morris Levy, from New York, signed
Ronnie to Roulette Records, The Hawk's label from
1959 to 1964. During this time, the members of The
Hawks were constantly changing. From the original
four (Ronnie, Paulman, Jones and Helm), they added
bassist Jimmy Evans for a few tours. One night when
The Hawks were playing in Wildwood, New Jersey,
Ronnie went to see his cousin Dale Hawkins' band.
Dale's guitarist was Fred Carter, Jr., who had a big
reputation as a great blues and rock 'n' roll
picker. Ronnie thought Carter was the best guitarist
he'd ever seen and offered him a job. Carter
accepted and joined The Hawks. Shortly thereafter,
Jimmy Ray Paulman and Jimmy Evans left the band and
Ronnie brought in a young fan named Robbie
Robertson, who started on bass guitar and went on to
play rhythm guitar. Soon Will 'Pop' Jones left as
well, and Ronnie hired a 17-year-old piano player
named Stan Szelest, whom Ronnie thought was the best
keyboard player on the planet.
Eventually
Fred Carter, Jr., left the band and Ronnie brought
in Roy Buchanan to play lead guitar. Robbie
Robertson, who had been under the tutelage of
Carter, began studying Buchanan's guitar playing and
eventually became the lead guitar player when
Buchanan left the band. Stan Szelest decided to
leave as well, deciding to go back to school in
Buffalo and get married. Ronnie's tradition of
hiring great Canadian musicians took firm hold.
Richard Manuel, of the Rockin' Revols (a band Ronnie
had booked at the Rockwood Club), became a Hawk.
Rebel Paine,
the bass player, decided to get married and left the
band. Suddenly Ronnie had three months to find a new
bass player. One of Ronnie's opening acts in Toronto
featured a guitarist/singer named Rick Danko. Ronnie
hired him as a bass player for The Hawks. Yet
another local London, Ontario, act included Garth
Hudson, who had a reputation as being one of the
greatest musicians around. Ronnie had seen him play
two or three times and knew that Garth had been
schooled in music, so he wasted no time in bringing
him aboard.
This version
of The Hawks (Ronnie, Helm, Danko, Manuel,
Robertson, Hudson) wowed the crowds on Yonge Street
in Toronto until 1963, when The Hawks decided to
leave Ronnie and strike out on their own. They
eventually hooked up with Bob Dylan, becoming his
backup band when Dylan introduced electricity to
folk music. They then went on their own as The Band.
They gained stardom shortly afterward.
Ronnie was
unphased by the loss of his band and formed another
version of The Hawks. He formed Hawk Records and
recorded three singles in 1964 and 1965 with the new
Hawks. They left shortly thereafter and became
Robbie Lane and the Disciples. Over the next decade,
several Hawks went on to gain stardom after
attending the 'Ronnie Hawkins Rock 'n' Roll Bootcamp'.
One incarnation, which included John Till, Richard
Bell and Larry Atamniuk, went on to form Janis
Joplin's 'Full Tilt Boogie Band'. Another version of
The Hawks included Roly Greenway and John Gibbard,
who eventually became Crowbar. Two more members, B.J.
Cook and David Foster, went on to form Skylark, and
Foster is now one of the world's most renowned
producers. Several other Hawks went on to gain
acclaim; Burton Cummings, who formed The Guess Who;
David Clayton Thomas of Blood, Sweat & Tears;
Beverly D'Angelo, who became a famous actress and
Larry Gowan, who has a respectful solo career. Many
great musicians worked as a Hawk when Ronnie ruled
Toronto's Yonge Street, and even more guested on his
stage.
Of course,
this kind of notoriety led to many interesting
adventures for 'The Hawk'. In 1969, John Lennon and
Yoko Ono stayed with Ronnie on his farm in
Mississauga for a couple of weeks during their peace
crusade and took the Hawkins' on their train ride to
see Canada's Prime Minister, Pierre Trudeau.
Afterwards (remember the bed-in!), Ronnie and music
journalist Ritchie Yorke were recruited by Lennon as
peace emissaries and visited China. When Ronnie went
to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and recorded 'Down In The
Alley' with Duane Allman in 1970, Lennon helped
boost the single and recorded a promotional spot for
it.
Ronnie's
earlier recordings included 'Forty Days', which
reached #45 on the Billboard charts. But it was
Ronnie's version of 'Mary Lou' that brought him fame
when the single reached #26 on the charts in 1959.
Introduced to Dick Clark, he played on all of his
shows, including 'Philadelphia Bandstand', 'The
Beechnut Show' and 'American Bandstand'. Ronnie's
incredible live show featured his famous 'camel
walk' and backflips. His wild antics led to his
moniker, 'Mr. Dynamo'.
One of
Ronnie's favorite recordings was with Fred Foster:
'The Rock 'n' Roll Resurrection' album. Ronnie was
introduced to the hit-maker Foster via Kris
Kristofferson. Ronnie also enjoyed recording the
1982 'The Hawk & Rock' album, which was recorded
live in England.
Ronnie's
influence has earned him several awards and special
appearances. His 1984 LP, 'Making It Again', earned
him the Juno award for Country Male Vocalist. In
1989, he helped tear down the Berlin Wall, playing
with The Band. In 1992, Ronnie performed at Bill
Clinton's inaugural party, The Blue Jeans Bash.
Ronnie's 1995 CD 'Let It Rock' earned him a 1996
Juno Award nomination and is full of the exciting
music that Ronnie loves, with friends Carl Perkins
and Jerry Lee Lewis joining him for his 60th
birthday party (who else can say that they had those
two travel over 1000 miles to attend their birthday
party?). After the release of the 'Let It Rock' CD
in Washington D.C., Ronnie and Wanda enjoyed a visit
with the President in the Oval Office. Back in
Canada, Ronnie has also played for every Canadian
Prime Minister since John Diefenbaker, and, in
Europe, he enjoyed playing for Lech Walesa of Poland
at a Solidarity music festival. The pinnacle of
Ronnie's influence on Canadian music was achieved
when he received the Walt Grealis Special Lifetime
Achievement Award as CARAS' Industry Builder in
1996. In 1997, Ronnie recorded a bluesy and funny
version of 'Backdoor Man' for a tribute album for
another old friend, Howlin' Wolf.
In addition to
music, Ronnie has become an accomplished actor. In
1981 and '82, he hosted his own television show
called 'Honky Tonk', and had an award-winning
documentary on his career simply called 'The Hawk'
released in the early 80's. In 1983 he hosted a
nationally syndicated special called 'In Concert',
which marked his 25th year in Canada. Ronnie's many
movie appearances include roled in 'Heaven's Gate'
with Kris Kristofferson, 'The Last Waltz' with The
Band, 'Renaldo and Clara' with Bob Dylan, 'Snakeater'
with Lorenzo Lamas, 'One For The Money' with John
Candy, Brooke Shields and Dean Martin, and 'Hello,
Mary Lou: Prom Night II', which took it's title from
Ronnie's song. He's also appeared with a young Jim
Carrey and Jean-Claude Killey in a movie titled
'Downhill Ski Patrol', as well as appearing in many
television series episodes, including 'Night Heat'
and 'Due South'. Ronnie also narrated a television
documentary about '55-'57 Chevrolets, which featured
several old 'Hawk' recordings and reminds us of his
lifelong love of classic cars.
Ronnie Hawkins
remains 'Mr. Dynamo', a legend who is credited with
bringing rock 'n' roll to Canada, and has had two
books written about his life in music. Ronnie has
passed the live playing on to his son Robin, who has
struck out on his own, playing the Ontario circuit
after ten years as a Hawk, and to his daughter Leah,
who lives in Nashville, Tennessee, and is pursuing
her singing career there. Ronnie, Jr. was diagnosed
with schizophrenia as a teen and has been living
with this terrible disease all these years. Ronnie
and Wanda actively raise money for The Schizophrenia
Society of Ontario in the hope that, with research,
someday a cure will be found. One in one hundred
adults in the world is afflicted with this
devastating disease, yet the research monies are
apallingly little.
On a cheerier
note, between movies and recording, 'The Hawk'
occasionally returns to the stage because, after
all, the 'Big Time' is just around the corner...
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