RAMBLIN ROUND: Ronnie Hawkins: The man who brought The Band together

Jun. 3—It's not unusual to learn about some singers or musicians before you get to hear them or see them perform.

Whether by an article, word of mouth or references by other musicians, I think most music fans can probably think of at least a few instances where they've heard about particular musical artists before hearing any of their recordings.

I've even known individuals who have gone to concerts by artists they're never before heard — usually because they were going with friends. The quality of such an experience is usually determined by the quality of the performance — and sometimes, by the quality of the friends, ha-ha.

These days of, course, those who may be curious about a musician they've heard of, but have never previously listened to, can get on the internet and can usually find a video or audio performance to assuage their curiosity.

That hasn't always been the case. In pre-internet days, you usually had to chance upon a performance on the radio or television or buy a recording yourself — which was not always available, except for the most popular artists. One might listen to a friend or acquaintance's recording if they had one. Otherwise, you had to simply wait for fate to make a listening experience available.

That's how I first heard the music of Ronnie Hawkins— an American rockabilly singer who moved to Canada in the late 1950s.

I was lucky enough to see the musical concert film and documentary "The Last Waltz" on the big screen. The movie's title refers to the name of the concert filmed and recorded for the movie, with "The Last Waltz" presented as the last time the group known as The Band would perform together.

Band members decided to not only perform at the concert, they invited a bunch of their musical friends and influences as well — with The Band serving as the backing group for all of the performers.

And what a group of performers they were, including many of my favorites: Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, bluesman Muddy Waters, Dr. John, Neil Diamond and Ronnie Hawkins. While nearly all of the artists gave brilliant performances, the show was nearly stolen by the least well-known of those who stepped onstage for "The Last Waltz." A musical dynamo, Hawkins ripped into a version of Bo Diddley's "Who Do You Love?" with The Band's lead guitarist Robbie Robertson matching Hawkins' unleashed musical ferocity.

Hawkins, sings, yelps and growls the song and when Robertson beings zinging an especially fiery guitar solo, Hawkins takes his cowboy hat and hilariously fans Robertson's Fender Stratocaster, to cool the strings.

Yep, Hawkins, who passed away last Sunday, on May 29 at the age of 87, lived up to his legend.

Although I'd never had the opportunity to hear his music before seeing him in the movie, I knew his story well. He started by opening his own club in Fayetteville, Arkansas, just 88 miles from Poteau, Oklahoma. It didn't take long for Hawkins to graduate from booking early rock 'n' roll artists such as Jerry Lee Lewis, to leaping onstage himself.

A wildly energetic performer, Hawkins proved a natural — cavorting around the stage, even doing the occasional backflip, anything to excite the crowd and bring a sense of fun to his performances. Rising in popularity, he toured the southern circuit and even landed a recording contract.

One of the artists Hawkins booked into his club and who he sometimes ran into on the road was then-rock 'n' roll artist Conway Twitty. Like Hawkins, Twitty, whose real name was Harold Jenkins, was an Arkansas native.

While Hawkins was a dynamic live performer, one thing he couldn't land was a hit record, forcing him to depend on his live performances to make his musical living. When rockabilly's popularity began dwindling in the states, Twitty advised Hawkins to tour Canada — with our neighbor to the north still hungry for authentic rockabilly music.

So Hawkins took Twitty's advice and headed north — where he felt so much at home he moved there. His brand or raucous rockabilly found a ready audience in the Canadian climes, where there was a hunger for authentic American rock 'n' roll.

Hawkins didn't go to Canada alone; he brought along his band of young southerners like himself. However, most of then didn't adapt as well to the Canada as did Hawkins. One-by-one, they got homesick and headed south — except for the drummer, Levon Helm, who stayed in Canada with Hawkins.

As those young American musicians returned home, Hawkins replaced them with young Canadians and eventually, he had a new lineup of the band he called The Hawks: Ronnie Robertson on lead guitar, Rick Danko on bass, Richard Manuel on piano, Garth Hudson on organ and keyboards and the lone American, Helm, on drums.

Through their musical apprenticeship with Hawkins, they became a powerful, tight ensemble, that made them well-known on the Canadian touring circuit. Hawkins occasionally took them on forays across the border, where they played clubs in Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Hawkins eventually hit the charts, with songs such as "Forty Days" and "Mary Lou." He and the band even landed on "Dick Clark's American Bandstand" — where for some reason it was decided to dress them u as western bartenders, circa 1800s.

All of the musicians not only became virtuosos on their main instrument, they played others as well. If Helm needed to step from behind the drums to play a guitar or mandolin part, no problem. Manuel would leave his piano bench and play his "loosey-goosey " style of drumming. If they needed a saxophone, Hudson would step away from the organ to play the horn part, and so on.

Helm, Danko and Manuel would develop into three of the best singers in rock, with each not only capable of soloing, but also proficient in stacking harmonies on top of each other. Robertson not only developed a stinging guitar style, he also developed into a unique songwriter.

All of this was not lost on the band members. For such a loose performer, Hawkins ran a tight ship as a bandleader — such as fining the band members when one of their girlfriends attended a performance. Hawkins felt it important for them to present themselves as unattached to the women attending their shows.

Finally, after one fine too many, The Hawks took flight. They figured they could make it own their own and they did manage to land a couple of record contracts, releasing songs such as the Robertson-penned "The Stones That You Throw" under the name Levon and The Hawks.

However, they found the going a little tougher than expected. They were playing the bar circuit along the Jersey Shore in 1965 when Bob Dylan needed a backing band to help him make his move from being a folk-singer to a full-blown rock 'n' roller. A young Canadian named Mary Martin worked in the New York offices of Dylan's then-manager Albert Grossman. She'd heard The Hawks back in Canada and recommended them.

Dylan checked them out and he liked what he heard, He first signed on Robertson and Helm to join him, Al Kooper and other musicians at an outdoor concert at Forest Hills Tennis Stadium and at the Hollywood Bowl, then eventually signed the rest of the band to back him up, debuting together in Austin, Texas.

The Hawks went on to back Dylan during his American tour and his 1966 European tour, with the exception of Helm, who got tired of being booed, along with the rest of the band, by the die-hard folkies in the audiences.

Following the tour, they rented a house than famously became know as Big Pink, and under their new name, Then Band, released a series of albums that changed the course of musical history, presenting an earthy, organic sound that was all about bringing the best to their songs as opposed to the frenzied soloing in vogue at the time.

Songs such as "The Weight," "Up On Cripple Creek," and "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down," along with their groundbreaking albums such as "Music From Big Pink," "The Band" and "Stage Fright," are credited with creating the musical style now known as Americana.

While other configurations of the group would go on to play together, "The Last Waltz" marked the last time all the members of The Band performed as a unit — and no one seemed to be having more fun than the guy who started it all, who made an enthusiastic comment to Robertson in the midst of singing "Who Do You Love?"

"Big time, Robbie! Big time!"

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.