Ronnie Hawkins was born on January 10 1935 in Huntsville, Arkansas. His family moved to Fayetteville, Arkansas when he was young. He came from a family of musicians. Various uncles and cousins toured Arkansas and Oklahoma as "The Hawkins Family" in 1930s and 1940s. His uncle Delmar "Skipper" Hawkins performed with the Sons of the Pioneers. Delmar Hawkins's son Dale Hawkins had a music career contemporaneous with Ronnie Hawkins and had a hit in 1957 with the song "Suzy Q." At age eleven Ronnie Hawkins started singing at local fairs. He formed his first band, The Hawks, after graduating high school. He attended the University of Arkansas, majoring in physical education, but dropped out in 1956 just a few credits shy of graduation.
Afterwards Ronnie Hawkins enlisted in the United States Army. It was while he was in Army Basic Combat Training at Fort Sill that he began performing with an African American quartet under the name The Black Hawks. The Black Hawks disbanded after Ronnie Hawkins's service in the army ended. He was not out of the military for long when he cut two demos, a cover of Lloyd Price's "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and a cover of Hank Williams's "A Mansion on the Hill." Unfortunately, nothing came of the demos. Despite this, Ronnie Hawkins impressed Luke Paulman, the session guitarist on the two demos, who made an offer to young Mr. Hawkins that they go to his home of Helena, Arkansas, where he could further pursue his music career. Once in Helena, Ronnie Hawkins formed the initial version of his band The Hawks with Luke Paulman, Luke Paulman's brother, bassist George Paulman, and their cousin, pianist Willard "Pop" Jones. It was later in 1957 that drummer Levon Helm joined the band.
It was in 1958 that Conway Twitty suggested to Ronnie Hawkins that he tour Canada. Having met with little success in the United States, Ronnie Hawkins found success in Canada and would make the country his home. Except for drummer Levon Helm, the other members of The Hawks would not join Ronnie Hawkins in Canada.
It was in 1959 that Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks signed a contract with Roulette Records. He would have his first hit with a cover of Chuck Berry's "Thirty Days," retitled "Forty Days." It went to no. 4 on the Canadian singles chart and peaked at no. 45 on the Billboard Hot 100. The B-side of "Forty Days," a cover of Young Jessie's "Mary Lou" would prove to be his biggest hit in the United States. Peaking at no. 6 on the Canadian singles chart, it went to no. 26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
While Ronnie Hawkins would see little success on the American Billboard Hot 100, he would continue to have hits on the Canadian singles chart. His covers of Bo Diddley's "Bo Diddley" and Ersel Hickey's "Bluebirds over the Mountain" reached the top ten of the Canadian singles chart. In 1970 his cover of The Clovers' "Down in the Alley' peaked at no. 20 on the chart. Starting with his self-titled debut album in 1959, Ronnie Hawkins also released several albums throughout his career. With Fred Carter on guitar and Levon Helm on drums, Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel and Garth Hudson became the new incarnation of the Hawks. They would leave him in 1964 and form The Band.
Over the years Ronnie Hawkins would prove to be a mentor to several rock musicians. In addition to The Band, he started the careers of guitarists Roy Buchanan and Pat Travers. The Band always acknowledged the debt they owed Ronnie Hawkins, and he performed at their farewell concert on Thanksgiving Day at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in 1975, which was filmed for Martin Scorsese's documentary The Last Waltz (1978).
Ronnie Hawkins was a pioneer of rock 'n' roll and an incredible performer. Much more of a live performer than a studio musician, he could give incredible performances. He was known for his racousness on stage, which included his camel walk and even back flips. Ronnie Hakwins was certainly influential on rock music in Canada. Over the years he was honoured in Canada with a star on the Canada Walk of Fame in Toronto, induction into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame, and an honorary degree from Laurentian University in Sudsbury, Ontario. He was made an Honorary Officer of the Order of Canada in 2014.
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