Without Ronnie Hawkins, pop history would have turned out differently. His contribution was not so much his own work as a singer or frontman of his rockabilly band The Hawks, even though his lecture was illustrious in the late 1950s. What made ‘The Hawk’ a key figure was his role as mentor to the five musicians we have come to know as The Band since the 1960s.
Ronnie Hawkins, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 87 in Peterborough, Canada, was the ‘Godfather, the one who made it all happen’, Robbie Robertson, the guitarist and songwriter of The Band, said in a response to Twitter last night. .
The Canadian Robertson (78) got to know the Hawkins from the American Arkansas when he was on tour with his Hawks in Canada in 1959. Hawkins, born in 1935, liked to play there because there was much more work for him than at home, where the competition was too fierce.
Ronnie made a big impression on the still very young Robertson, who was allowed to provide the support act with his own band. The admiration was mutual. Hawkins recorded a few songs that Robertson, just 16, wrote for him. Hawkins saw something in the combination between the guitarist and his own Hawks drummer, Levon Helm. He offered him a place in the band and instructed Levon and Robbie to look for other new band members.
Hawkins must have had an impeccable sense of musical talent, because in a short time Rick Danko (bass), Richard Manuel (piano) and Garth Hudson (sax and organ) were added. Not only great musicians, but Helm, Danko and Manuel also had the most beautiful voices in rock music.
A good couple, those two Americans and four Canadians. But Hawkins couldn’t keep up with the rest’s creative ambitions, which extended beyond rockabilly. In 1963 they left their landlord, went to New York and met Bob Dylan there. The rest is history.
Hawkins remained in Canada, where he remained a great inspiration and mentor to young musicians until his death.
The general public finally got to know him in 1978 when Robertson asked him back for The Band’s farewell concert, which was captured by Martin Scorsese in the film. The Last Waltz (1978). They played together Who Do You Love† Unforgettable is the image of Hawkins waving his Stetson hat at Robertson’s still glowing guitar. Hawkins had adapted the text: ‘I turned 41, I don’t mind dying.’