Ronnie Hawkins, Rockabilly Legend, Dead at 87

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Ronnie “The Hawk” Hawkins, the Canadian rockabilly singer known for his rollicking early rock n’ roll hits died on Sunday May 29th, 2022 at age 87. A cause of death was not immediately available, only that he was battling a long term illness.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hawkins played with a backing band called the Hawks, which included Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel. In 1963, The Hawks split from Hawkins. They went on to become Bob Dylan’s backup band and then, just The Band.

In the early days of rock n roll, Hawkins had hits with high energy covers of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?” and Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days” (Hawkins renamed his cover “Forty Days”).

Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Arkansas in 1935 and his family relocated to Fayetteville when he was a child. He was interested in music at a young age and began playing in local bars in 1953. Local musician Levon Helm—who would go on to play drums and sing in the Band—joined Hawkins’ group The Hawks five years later.

Around that time, Hawkins left the US and relocated to Hamilton, Ontario on the recommendation of country singer Conway Twitty. Hawkins played local bars and achieved a hit with his version of “Hey, Bo Diddley.” He cut his first full-length, self-titled record for Roulette Records. It included covers of “Forty Days” and “Mary Lou.” One of his biggest singles was a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Who Do You Love?”. Hawkins’ energetic live shows earned him the nick names “Mr. Dynamo” and “Rompin’ Ronnie” due in part to his dancing which included his “camel walk.”

In his later years, Hawkins developed pancreatic cancer and then recovered. He attributed the recovery to visiting psychic healers and taking native herbal medicine. His miraculous recovery was featured in the 2012 documentary film Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kicking.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Wanda, their two sons, Ronnie Jr. and country singer Robin Hawkins, who had served as his guitarist since the 1980s, and daughter Leah Hawkins, an aspiring songwriter who had been his backup singer.