Rockabilly Great & The Band Mentor Ronnie Hawkins 1935 – 2022

Renowned rocker and mentor to The Band Ronnie Hawkins has died. Hawkins’ wife Wanda confirmed the news of his passing, as reported by the CBC. “He went peacefully and he looked as handsome as ever,” Wanda said in a phone call with the publication. Hawkins, who died on Sunday morning, was 87 years old.

Ronald Cornett Hawkins was born on January 10, 1945 in Huntsville, Arkansas. Ronnie “The Hawk” Hawkins would go on to play a huge role in American rock ‘n’ roll as the genre found its footing in the 1950s and ‘60s.

He formed his famed band The Hawks by the time he graduated high school in 1952 and was deeply involved in the music scene of Fayetteville, attending the University Of Arkansas and going on to own and operate the Rockwood Club. Progenitors of rockabilly — a fluid mix of country and blues which helped to form rock ‘n’ roll — like Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty performed at the club. Hawkins would open up at Rockwood and became known for his stage presence, namely his “camel walk” dance and doing flips on stage. In 1957, Hawkins played with fellow Arkansas musician Levon Helm for the first time at the Delta Supper Club.

After Levon graduated high school, Hawkins, Helm and The Hawks headed to Canada at the suggestion of Conway Twitty, who keyed the musicians in on the country’s need for touring artists. In Canada, a number of the band members dropped out with the exception of Helm and the intrepid musicians turned to local talent. Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson would join The Hawks and forever changed the landscape of rock ‘n’ roll.

After his collaborators went on to back Bob Dylan and then formed The Band in 1967, Hawkins stayed on in Canada where he would host John Lennon and Yoko Ono in 1969 on their legendary Bed-in for Peace action. Lennon also tapped Hawkins as a peace ambassador, with Ronnie traveling to to the border of China and Hong Kong to spread the anti-war message. Hawkins kept his connections with his friends and collaborators, playing “Bob Dylan” in the 1978 film Renaldo and Clara and reconvening with The Band for their legendary farewell show at San Francisco’s Winterland Ballroom in 1976, the iconic The Last Waltz.

Ronnie continued to act and perform throughout his later career. On January 10, 1995 he celebrated his 60th birthday with a concert at Massey Hall in Toronto where rock legends like Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis and The Band performed. The show was captured for posterity in the live album Let It Rock.

In 2003, Hawkins was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. But the rocker battled the illness valiantly, which was also documented in the 2012 film Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kicking. Hawkins, however, ultimately succumbed to the illness and passed away this morning. The Band guitarist Robbie Robertson wrote a touching tribute to his mentor. Read it below:

My heart sank when I heard “The Hawk” just flew into the sunset. The story of The Band began with Ronnie Hawkins. He was our mentor. He taught us the rules of the road.

Ronnie Hawkins brought me down from Canada to the Mississippi delta when I was 16. He recorded two songs I’d written and thought I might be talented. He tried me out on guitar and bass the only problem was; I’m too young to play in the clubs they toured, I was too inexperienced, not a good enough musician yet, and there are NO Canadians in southern rock and roll bands. But I practiced until my fingers were bleeding and he ended up hiring me against all odds.

Ron prided himself in always having top notch players in his group. Levon Helm his drummer in the Hawks and I talked Ron into hiring Rick Danko on bass and vocals, Richard Manuel on piano and vocals and Garth Hudson on organ and sax. Along with Levon and me this became the magic combination.

Ronnie was the godfather. The one who made this all happen.

He had us rehearsing constantly into the wee hours. We balked about it, but we got better and better. Our goal whether we knew it or not.

After the Hawks left Ron and went out on our own, we joined up with Bob Dylan. Next the Hawks became The Band and the rest is history, as they say.

All starting out with Ronnie Hawkins.

He was not only a great artist, a tremendous performer and bandleader, but had a style of humor unequaled. Fall down funny and completely unique. Yep, God only made one of those. And he will live in our hearts forever.

My deepest condolences to his family.

Bless his soul.