During the drive over to Hot Springs the conversation somehow turned into Ronnie Hawkins, the Arkansas-born rockabilly star that was considered bigger than Elvis during his hay day in Canada. Hawkins set up shop on Toronto’s Yonge Street and has been in Canada, for the most part, ever since.
The Hawk took fellow Arkansan Levon Helm with him and while in Canada he put together a band that would eventually turn into The Band (The Weight, The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, Up On Crippled Creek). It was the same group of guys, minus Hawkins, that joined Bob Dylan in 1965 when the then-acoustic only folk singer decided to go electric.
Hawkins was from rural Madison County in Northwest Arkansas. Helm was from East Arkansas, the community of Turkey Scratch near Helena.
I first met “The Hawk” during an interview for a Fayetteville entertainment publication, and was able to see him on multiple occasions during his visits to relatives in Madison County. At one of his family reunions, I was also able to meet his first cousin, Dale Hawkins.
Dale was more of a true blues guitarist, but perhaps made his biggest mark with “Susie Q,” the song that jump-started Credence Clearwater Revival’s debut album in 1968 and was later named as one of the “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll” by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rolling Stone magazine said “Susie Q” was the first rock and roll song “where the guitar counts for more than the song itself.”
While Dale Hawkins was actually born in Louisiana, he too spent some childhood years in Madison County and attended school at tiny St. Paul. He passed away in 2010.
Ronnie Hawkins could not have been more polar opposite than his laid back cousin. He has more one-liners that Rodney Dangerfield and a smile is affixed to his face seemingly at all times.
Watching the Oscars and subsequent controversy surrounding J-Lo’s “revealing” dress, Hawkins again came to mind. J-Lo’s incident had nothing on Hawkins’ 1979 wardrobe malfunction. Hawkins was co-hosting Canada’s prestigious Juno Awards. During the opening number, he jumped out of a classic T-Bird as he performed his hit “Forty Days.” Hawkins’s fly was wide open for the entire country to see during the entire song.
Speaking of the Oscars, was it just me or did Nick Nolte look as if he wanted fight somebody?
Speaking of Oaklawn, it took four trips this season before finally winning a trifecta, and even then I lost. I paid $12 to box four horses in the 5th race on Sunday. The winning trio combo paid a lousy $9. So, I ate another corned beef sandwich.
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While in Madison County, I founded a small athletic hall of fame for those with ties there that had made their mark in one way or another in the world of sports. Legendary baseball player Arky Vaughan and current Huntsville High School coaches Charlie Berry (girls basketball) and Tom Tice (football), two of the winningest coaches in state history in their respective sports, were among those enshrined in the first class in 2004.
I had published a magazine back in the early 1990’s for the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame. Perhaps the most memorable speech came from a very old gentleman who had been a member of the Harlem Globetrotters at one time and had played in the Negro League. He was the first African-American ever signed by the Boston Red Sox, although he never played in the Major Leagues.
Piper Davis would later manage the Birmingham Black Barons and is credited for signing a 16-year-old local kid named Willie Mays.
This particular banquet had lasted well into the night, well into its fourth hour. Despite all of the celebrities on hand that evening, people were ready to go home. Speeches were running long and attention spans were short. Davis was the last honoree of the evening. As he was announced, the old man shuffled slowly to the podium. He slowly reached up and pulled down the microphone. He leaned into it and said, “Thank you,” then began shuffling back to his seat. He was given a standing ovation.
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A University of Georgia Lady Bulldog soccer player was arrested last week after she was seen putting a bag of hash browns down her pants at a local store. The sticker price for the hash browns was $1.06. Her bond was set at $1,500.