Rock On, Mr. Ronnie Hawkins

Thanks for the tunes and influence. And a deserved recipient of the Order Of Canada.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainmen...uary-1.6470162

The Hawk

RIP… essentially the man who put together The Band and shaped them into a tight unit on the road. Many thanks.

I had no idea of his influence on the band. And Robbie Robertson.

“The story of The Band began with Ronnie Hawkins. He was our mentor. He taught us the rules of the road.”

The Arkansas Rockabilly singer had worked with numerous rock legends, including discovering the talents of musicians that would eventually form the supergroup The Band.

“Ronnie Hawkins brought me down from Canada to the Mississippi Delta when I was 16,” Robertson recalled.

“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.”