Toronto.Musician Ronnie Hawkins, known as the father of Canadian rock, has died. He died after an illness in the province of Ontario on Sunday morning (local time), his wife Wanda confirmed to the Canadian Press news agency. “He walked away calmly and looked handsome as ever.” Hawkins was 87 years old.
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Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas in January 1935, just two days after Elvis Presley. At an early age she had minor hits with “Mary Lou” and “Odessa”; He also ran a club in Fayetteville where rock ‘n’ roll stars such as Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins performed.
First appeared in Canada in the late 1950s
Hawkins first appeared in Canada in the late 1950s. He felt that he would stand there more than at home, especially since rock music was still in its infancy in Canada at the time. Many country musicians moved to the United States to pursue their careers. Hawkins was one of the few Americans to try it another way. With drummer Levon Helm, also from Arkansas, Hawkins put together a Canadian band with guitarists Robbie Robertson, keyboardists Garth Hudson and Richard Manuel, and bassist. They came to be known as Hawks.
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Hawkins didn’t sell that many records, and so it happened that his musicians teamed up with Bob Dylan in the mid-1960s to become superstars themselves at the end of that decade and simply call themselves “The Band”.
In Ontario, Hawkins Landed Some Local Hits
Hawkins made his home in Peterborough, Ontario, where he found some local hits. He had little time for new trends in rock and pop, but became friends with John Lennon and his wife Yoko Ono in the late 1960s. He stayed with Hawkins and his family on a trip to Canada.
At the time, Hawkins later told the National Post newspaper that he felt he was doing Lennon and Ono a favor. He thought the Beatles were an English band that just got lucky. “I didn’t know much about their music. I’ve never heard a Beatle album until today.”
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Documentary about Hawkins’ life
Hawkins also remained in touch with the band, appearing as a guest musician at the group’s farewell ceremony, which formed the basis of Martin Scorsese’s documentary The Last Waltz. Another documentary about Hawkins’ life was voiced by actor Dan Aykroyd as the narrator, and also featured another famous son from Arkansas: Bill Clinton.
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