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.
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.
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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...
Information
courtesy of the official Ronnie Hawkins web
site.
