Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins, born January 10, 1935 in Huntsville, Arkansas, United States, is a pioneering rock and roll musician. (He should not be confused with Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter Ron Hawkins.)

Ronnie Hawkins, born January 10, 1935 in Huntsville, Arkansas, United States, is a pioneering rock and roll musician. (He should not be confused with Canadian indie rock singer-songwriter Ron Hawkins.)

At the age of nine, his family moved to nearby Fayetteville. After graduating from high school, he studied physical education at the University of Arkansas where he formed his first band, "The Hawks," touring with them throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri. His band helped launch such talented artists as Levon Helm, Rick Danko and Robbie Robertson. Hawkins owned and operated the Rockwood Club in Fayetteville where some of Rock music's earliest pioneers came to play including Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty.