Tommy Solo's Classics Ronnie Hawkins

When I interviewed Ronnie Hawkins in 2021 he was already 86 years old, but he proved that he was still the king of one liners & had me laughing throughout our conversation.
Growing up in Arkansas he was influenced by the music he was raised on & when he brought his brand of Rockabilly music to Canada, he quickly became a seminal figure in the musical landscape here.
The list of musicians, actors etc. whose careers he helped launch is too long to list here, but we did talk about a lot of those artists in our chat.
I believe I was perhaps the last person to interview him as I spoke with him again shortly after the release of his last single, a cover of Me & Bobby McGee with Kris Kristofferson, Gordon Lightfoot & Wille Nelson later that year & he would pass away not long after.
If You're a fan of the Hawk, sit back & enjoy this walk down memory lane with me & Ronnie.

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Episode Transcript

(00:23):
Welcome to Tommy Solo's Famous Friends.This is where I get to chat with
people that I've connected with over theyears in the arts and entertainment world,
and today I have with me thelegendary singer and rock and artist Ronnie Hawkins.
Welcome to the show, Ronnie,Well, thank you very much.
Trust going on there, Patting Well, you know, we're still surviving this

(00:45):
zombie apocalypse that they call COVID,But other than that, you know,
everything's just Dickey boo old baby.Yeah. So Robby Girl has been asking
about me. Yeah, all thegirls of London want to know when you're
coming back. That's what I thought. Yeah, so boy, they missed
me. So I know, Ronnie, you spent a long, long time

(01:07):
in the business, and you wereyou were born in Huntsville, Arkansas sixty
three years I played. You're luckyif you get to play music for sixty
three years, you know, halfas entertaining. But I never had to
worry about a job. I alwayshad a job. Yeah, no kidding

(01:27):
you and Larry Mercy. Boy,So, Ronnie, I understand that your
mother was a teacher and your fatherwas a barber. Doesn't sound like there
was all that much musical influence athome. How did you get the inspiration
to get into music in the firstplace. Well, I tell you I
was I was the only one thatmy cousins and my dad and his brothers,

(01:49):
they all play anything. I wasthe only one that couldn't play nothing,
you know, And I'm the onlyone that wanted to stay in music
enough later on made half living.You know, sixty three years is a
long time, and I got topay sixty three years because that's all you
want to do, is when you'rein there, tayor to show off.

(02:09):
Try to show off and pray forgirl, No kidding. Yeah, You've
been called many things, and someof them we can say in public,
I'm sure, mister Dynamo, SirRonnie Romp and Ronnie and the Hawk.
Now, speaking of the Hawk,you had your own label, Hawk Records

(02:30):
for a while. Yeah, Itried everything beers. I knew there was
so much great Canadian talents and theycouldn't get a job. Back to this,
before they started, you and everybodyin Canada, a Canadian could not
get a job. They were comingup here, you know and taking every
favorite. They couldn't get a recorddeal back then. Now now, you
know, they own the record company, but back then it was hard years

(02:53):
Canadian gig. I'm always in aweof some of the early acts that really
made it in Canada, because beforewe had the whole can Con, it
was tough to get on radio ifyou were a Canadian. I'm telling you,
they didn't treat the Canadians right fora long time. They are now,
but they weren't. I Need gotthrown out of Capitol Records office for

(03:14):
telling him, you've got to startpushing. You're taking all the money out
of Canada in front of it inHollywood wherever it is, and you're not
spending any money on Canadian talent.And I started that whole routine with him,
and finally they started doing it,started heaving out the Canadian artists a
little bit, not very much,but a little Well. I know,

(03:35):
there are a lot of Canadian artiststhat have you to think along the way.
I mean, you are quite wellknown for not only mentoring and getting
artists started, but really giving peoplea leg up. I mean some of
the people have played in Burton Cummingswas in the Hawks. Oh okay,
well I was lucky. I've beenso lucky with musicians. David Foster,

(03:57):
he's the biggest thing in music rightnow. Nobody's bigger than David Foster.
And he just had a son.Well he said, five or six dollars.
This time he's got a son,he'll be celebrating. Yeah, no
kidding. Yeah, and he's upthere too to be having a new kids.
He's the biggest singing music David SasterYeah, no kidding. And he

(04:19):
worked about band. He put alittle group together for me, tightening them
up, and they were out.I mean, they were slick. I
knew that he was gonna be inthe big tim Yeah. Really, I
mean some of that. The morepeople I talked to in this business,
the more I hear stories about howpeople got started in and around your band.
I mean I interviewed Robbie Lane recently, and one of the first things

(04:42):
he talked about was how his band, The Disciples, ended up being your
backup band. Oh yeah, whenthe band went out on their own,
he was already there because I waspromoting them. They were in hospital and
when the band death and then youknow about Bylan, I use them.
I don't know for how long,but for a long no really, so

(05:03):
I understand that if we go wayback now, your first gig in Canada.
Was it a club in Hamilton calledthe Grange? Is that right?
No? The Drange? Oh,the Dranger was a big spot. No,
I what was the call? Then? Uh? It changed name three
or four times since I've been inthere. Well what was that hotel called?

(05:25):
But I'll tell you what. WhenI went in there went the band
fold in there? Finally there wasabout six people in there, and I
started that one song and before Igot through the song, they had left.
And you always tell it for mad. If they need any beer,
if they need one swallow of beer, that means they were really mad,
because you don't do that, youknow, Yeah, no kidding. And

(05:48):
that club owner was on the phoneto Harrow Cottony. She was a booking
agent, right, and they said, you get these hill butteries out of
here, that you've run off allmy trade. There hadn't been anybody in
there since World War two. Soyou became a permanent citizen in Canada roughly
nineteen sixty four, but you'd alreadyhad some hits before that. Your cover

(06:12):
of Habel Diddley was followed by MaryLuke. Now I noticed when I listened
to the Bo Diddley version of HabelDidley Yours is slightly slowed down Temple.
Now was that on purpose or wasthat just something that the producer or whoever
came up with. You know whatwhat I did was play songs and see
if they would go over in thebars, And if they'd go over real

(06:35):
good, then that would be theones I would try to record. Yeah,
that's always a really good acid test. And now you had over the
years, I counted over forty albums. Well, I say where I recorded
a long time, sixty three years, I figure. And I was so
lucky. I got to record inall the great guys, Jerry Wafer and

(06:56):
Tom down. You don't be gettinga bigger name than him. And I
got to spend you know, awhole month with him. You know,
mush shows Alabama in two weeks inFlorida. I got to see Aretha Franklin,
you know one of her recordings.There's somebody who was pretty good,
pretty good entertainer. Yeah, nokidding, Yeah, Now I understand that.

(07:17):
Early on, was it nineteen fiftynine you were signed with Roulette Records
by Morris Levy, Yeah, marsLeo. He was the biggest hebrew gangster
in Manhattan. He was the biggest. He knew all the all the mob,
all the Italian bunch, you know, and they did business together.

(07:39):
You know. Yeah, well that'swhat Tommy James was recently talking about.
Oh yeah, Conna Jimmy. Buthe sold a billion records and didn't get
nothing. I spent more money thatI made. I didn't real any money
much from They didn't know me musbecause I didn't sell enough records before I
spent. Really, I spent alot, and it put me all over

(08:01):
Europe. I went all over everywhere. They really promoted me most easier.
I learned a lot from him,actually, but he was a gangster and
he cheated everybody. Yeah. Well, from what I've heard about Morris Levy,
it sounds like you were kind oflucky to get out when you could.
Oh shit. I kept him laughing. I kept going him, and
he had an Italian mobster that lookedlike for him, one of the very

(08:26):
last of the old Alcopole mob.Wow. I wrote a song called Uncle
Charlie Gangster as the Hell of Usset up in New York. Back then,
everybody was getting cheered by every recordcompany and every mind just threw this.
Yeah. Well, you know I'vebeen called a journeyman musician. That's
how Danny Marks from Blues FM refersto me anyway. And so I've been

(08:48):
in and around business for a longlong time. And I was at one
point in the early eighties offered arecord deal and I guess lucky or unlucky
for me, I had an whowas an entertainment lawyer, and he told
me not to sign it. Andnow when I talk to people like you,
and I hear from all these otherartists that everybody got that deal.

(09:09):
I'll tell you what. I justsigned anything. Though. Back then you
want to play so bad and showall so much and try to make it
in music. You know, youhave signed anything when you're young and don't
know nothing. Well you don't dothat now because all of that them are
smart. But back in the fifties, nobody knew nothing. Nobody knew nothing
about puvisions. That was the secret, because the puvision was the money.

(09:33):
Well that's what happened to Tom Pettyas well. Yeah, well I heard
yeah. Now he was real smartthough, because he was naive, he
didn't realize that what the money wasin the publishing. So when he found
out, he declared bankruptcy, andI think he was the first major signed
artist to do that. And heended up winning back as publishing. But

(09:54):
like you say, just about everybodyelse got pok Line and Sinker and here
you go on tour. Now youowe us a bunch of money. Well,
Bob Dilnon had to buy his back. You know, they had him
Marion wood Stock. Yeah, it'snot not an uncommony. Albert Grossman and
him, you had a bunch.But Bob Diylan. I remember the day

(10:15):
Bob Dilnon brought it back. Ithink he painted to million dollars or something,
more money than I thought. Yousaid make doing anything. That's how
big the publishing was, and especiallyBob Dylan because Peter, Paul and Mary
they had number one hits for hissong, you know, so he was
a big time before anybody thought hewas a big time and no kidding.
And another guy talked to Ken Tobias, you remember, yeah, yeah,

(10:41):
well yeah, he was telling meabout he had written that song stay Awhile
that the Bells had a huge internationalhit with. And I guess he was
down in La trying to record theproject and he got a call from Oh
my god, I can't remember whatb M I I guess or whatever and
said, you know, we justwanted to let you know that your song

(11:01):
is really charting. Well we wonderedif you wanted some money. So this
is I think nineteen seventy one,and he says, well, can I
have three hundred dollars I'd like toget a new guitar. And I think
they said, well, it's liketen thousand dollars or something like that.
Yeah, but they nobody had anythingthat his heart. I mean, I

(11:24):
knew all of them before they gotstarted, Johnny Sash, Colin Perkins,
all them guys, you know,and they got cheated too. Yeah,
it's a typical story, yeah,boyl Yeah. Yeah. So back to
your reputation for recruiting and grooming Canadiantalent. We all know about the version
of The Hawks that featured Rick Danko, Levon Helm Richard, Manuel Garth Hudson,

(11:48):
and I think Robbie Robertson was alsoin that version, right, Well,
I won't tell you. In myopinion, I've had so many great,
great musicians in my band. I'vebeen so lucky. I was the
fact that David Fosser number one inthe world. I had so many,
but the band, I think theban after I hard goth Hudgeond for one

(12:09):
year to teach him how to read, write and the range and all that
stuff, you know, because theywere as far as we could go because
nobody was out drawing them. Andthen I actually think that that was the
best band rock and roll band probablyin the world at that one time,
where we've been playing six or sevendays a week, Faction and God put
None and all that special stuff.They were a real, real good band

(12:33):
that vice. Yes, they were, Yeah, and then you had another
version of the Hawks that went onto become Janice Joplin's full tilt boogie band.
Yeah, that's old John Taylor downtill then. They were good musicians
too. They were a different breed. They were reading and you know around
what town is it where John Taillived? Well, John is in Stratford

(12:56):
as far as Gotford. That's ourstarting think. It was Stratford Festival.
That's when I first heard of thegreat actor of just dying, saying sarahen
no di Berge, Oh right,yeah, yeah, Well I saw John
till a few years ago. Iwas playing at the Stratford Blues Festival.
I think it was twenty sixteen andJohn Till was playing with B. W.

(13:18):
Pauley in plumb Loco. Oh yeah, they were good entertainers. That
whole bunch was real good musicians.But they had a problem. They were
blues drinkers and dopers, you know, young. Yeah, I mean,
you know, Richard's manually been drinkinga battle of Bushy of day so since
he was thirteen. So and JohnTaylor, all of them, Kenny kol

(13:41):
Muski, you know that name.So he was the bass player, Okay,
but they were a different breeder.They were young, all young,
but drinking a lot. You know. Well that'll do you in, that's
for sure. Oh Dners don't wantdophers live forever, but Chrishers will go
young. Yeah, it's really hardto make it big in the music business

(14:03):
if you spend all your money onbooze. I'm glad I never took a
drink mysef. Yeah, well itdoesn't ye never. Oh well, I'll
tell you I'll marry six years oldand ain't nobody had done what I'd done
and lived to be eighty six.I'm the only one nobody else has ever
done Wow. I just had thismemory of something that was I thought really

(14:26):
funny and it seemed like this wasthe Juno Awards. Okay, and you
might know where I'm going with this, but you were in a convertible Cadillac
Black Cadillac Troy it out onto thestage, was you and Carol Baker.
And one of the funniest things everon live TV on the CBC was when

(14:48):
you got out and ripped my parentsall the way from that all the way
up. I mean, so wellI did. I just went on toss
a little area up there. Butbut we're going to go ahead, and
Carol Berry, she could already startlaughing. The driver froze and didn't unlock
the doors. He couldn't get out. He went there on that stage and

(15:11):
he froze. That stage fight.Well, you know, there's been a
lot of good comedy on the CBCover the years, and you know Wayne
and Schuster and all that, butthat was one of the funniest things I
ever saw on the CBC. Igotta tell you. I tell you what,
Canada's always had some great great talentrotter. You know, they have
a lot of them Shakespeare and actorsthat I guess Stratford is a place,

(15:33):
you know, where you do justsake, spear and stuff here. But
there I saw Serenony Birds that andthe actually that did him just died.
What was the name, Christopher Plummer? All right, yeah, yeah,
oh Christopher. I've been on TVshow for forty years. He's been on
he's been around a long time.The old boy. Yeah, yeah,

(15:54):
no kidding, And he was good. I don't know if you ever saw
that Furst version of Serenony Birds that. I mean, he was a big
tim Christopher Plummer was an awesome actor. Absolutely, I've seen him in a
lot of things over the years.I want to go back in time now
to at the height of the nineteensixties peace movement. You invited John Lennon

(16:15):
and Yoko Ono to your farm toplan the peace festival. Was that the
bed ind well, I don't seesomething. Hell, he's got the bet
end. That got me a lotof publicity when they stayed at my house.
See, I got all my friendsback. Nobody wanted to talk to
you. Took advantage of that.I went all around the world saying,

(16:37):
you know, I'm John Lennon's numberone man. I don't think I ever
saw him again after that. Butwell, you're right, that was a
real popular event, that's for sure. Gosh, how you get John Man.
They were the biggest act in theworld by four then. Ever Richard
Burton and Elizabeth Taytor were seconds,but they were way down. They were

(17:00):
number one around the world. AndI got that gig well, and got
around the world promoting the Peace Festivaland John Man and the Boy. I
got a lot of publicity. Yeah, I told a lot of lies on
that tour. I said, ohyeah, oh, johnn he wants to
come over all the time of thisis the first time I had time for
him. That's too funny. It'stoo funny. So our good friend Nick

(17:22):
panaceco Oh yeah, well, Mike, I'm telling you what. Ain't he
a dandy? Yeah? Well hehe would have a tennisentry. What's that
does he have? Nick? Well, he wanted he wanted me to ask
you for bail money. He saidthat him and him and John Rowlands got
into some trouble and they were wonderingif I could call Ronnie and ask for

(17:47):
bail money. He'd been in themusic business, he laughing. I reckon,
Yeah, pretty much. He wasat number one promotion man. Yeah,
and had a question. He wantedme to ask you what was the
deal with London's old City Hall.I lost the whole thing, but I

(18:07):
have not known what I'm doing.They offered me three million dollars, which
was they'd be thirty million now,but three million, and I was a
fool and didn't take it and triedaccept in there and we went broke.
Well that's that's sometimes what happens inbusiness. I guess. Well, I
never have been as praise as beinga real good business man anyway. Well,

(18:29):
there seems to be a distinction,you know, and there's very few
musicians that really have that business acumen. And I talked to a lot of
guys that, you know, I'lltell you what it really does. David
Foster another one, Robbie Robertson.They take care of business into you guys,
and that's why they're still around,and that's why there's millionaires. Yeah,

(18:52):
they took care of business. I'msure David's got a management company now
looking after stuff, but he wasstill looking after his own stuff, you
know, all that business and stuff, signed checks and checked everything. He
caught people all the time. Butchicks, he really kept up with it,
so he knew what he was doing. David Fousser, Yeah, he's
one of a very few. Yeah, he just had a baby. He

(19:15):
had a boy. Yeah, he'sgot fourteen girls, but this is the
first boy. Speaking of boys anumber of years ago. This has been
probably middle to late eighties. Iwas lucky enough to be at Victoria Park
in London when you played with yourband and one of your sons was in

(19:36):
the band. Was that Robin orRonnie Junior? That was in the band?
That Robin Robin at one time itwas both of them, but Ronnie
couldn't do it in Robin stadion erea long time. He got his own
band in London, I mean inPeterborough, but he played with me when
he wasn't working right. That wasa rock and band. You guys were
loud. If he ain't too good, play loud. I was always taught

(20:00):
that, oh boy, Yeah,but that was it was a good band
and I was thoroughly entertained by theshow. Oh. I've been lucky to
have such great musicians, I'm tellingyou. And there's a lot of good
musicians in Zanna that the way.Yeah, lot of them. They ended
up being great. Took him aboutten years to catch up before we were,

(20:22):
but they were that became great.A lot of great musicians. Yeah
and well, another notable hawk wasDavid Clayton Thomas. Oh yeah, David
Clayton. I used to get himup to say when he was fourteen years
old, and then he was soundinggood and I knew he was going to
be good. But he was atough kid. He was tough. You
know. He whipped everybody's ass wherehe worked for him, Yes, because

(20:44):
you know he caught him cheating him, yes, but hell he threatened five
Davis. Five Davis was the biggestman in music, and I guess he
did something wrong. Clayton chased himaround the desk. Yeah, well he's
a big guy too. I thinkDavy can whipped the biggest roughish bouncer on

(21:07):
Young Street that's only got half aear, got half a ear, a
bit off, you got. Heain't got all his ear right now.
But he's done well. He's managedwell, and he's super rich. He's
done real good and I'm glad forhim. Well. I see him all
the time speaking his mind on socialmedia. And he's still an active mind,

(21:30):
that's for sure. Oh, I'mtelling you he was a tough cat.
I'm telling you he didn't take muchmuch nothing on me. If you
rubbed him wrong, he'd let youknow. Yeah, it sounds like it.
One time he was in in abar. He came in to see
me and I'm playing It's Nickelodeon,And when I got to playing, there's

(21:51):
about four or five college kids,young college kids, and they were drunk
and he ain't know who he wereanything about anything, and looks like they
jump on me and Davy. Therewere about five of them right, And
David said, they mid boys.These are not fair. You better go
outside and get four or five moreguys if you're gonna make this a fair

(22:11):
fighters. I couldn't believe there wereguys who looked at one another. They
were just young college kids in drumks. So David played in this test and
he's still doing good. I meanI see him all the time, you
know, going somewhere big time.So he's still playing and he looks good.
Yeah. Like I said, Isee him all the time on social
media and speak in his mind.So you performed at Bill Clinton's inauguration.

(22:34):
How did that happen? I goback a long way when Bill was governor
of Arkansas and he used to comein and see me play all the time
in Arkansas when he was governor atthe club, I played out there and
the boy to women went for him. I mean, he was a lady
killer. He'd walk in and youknow, he was the only politician I've

(22:56):
ever seen before or since that allhis security had shoulderling hair. You don't
see shoulder rings hair on the copbut he had. He had him and
he had come in and I'm sittingthere at the table with four or five
ladies on a break when he say, man, and when you said,
oh, there's the governor. There'sa governor, but you are heard.

(23:18):
You couldn't believe the things that theysaid they'd like to do to him.
Coligia would have been a shame ofsome of that. Yeah, well I
understand that. For a while,it was said that you would perform for
every Canadian Prime minister since Stefen Bakeras well. That's what they told me.
I have. I mean, inthe old days, that got me

(23:40):
for the kids. Nowadays they gotme for the old people. I went
a long ways from playing for thekids to plan for the old people.
Well that's the cycle, isn't it. That's it. I got to see
all them Prime Ministry and you wona Juneral Award in uh nineteen eighty four

(24:00):
for the Best Country Vocalist for yoursong Making It Again. Now that was
in the era of Uptown or NewCountry. So that's interesting that you won
for Best Country Vocalist in nineteen eightyfour. You know, I can't remember
it, but they told me thatI had one. You know, I
don't know how about cookery, cookaboard there is to win and music in

(24:23):
Canada. And then they gave methe Order of Canada, right, Yeah,
only good looking burgers gets in.Well, somebody must have thought you
were a pretty good looking I guess. Yeah. Yeah, I'll tell you
what. Canada is the Thomas Land, and it's really been the Thomas Land
for me. We got up herethis in time boy, just from Keifer

(24:45):
Sullivan's granddad got the law through formeditary Editor's note. Keifer Sutherland's grandfather,
Tommy Douglas, was the former Premierof Saskatchewan from nineteen in forty four to
nineteen sixty one and leader of theNew Democratic Party in Canada from nineteen sixty

(25:06):
one to nineteen seventy one. Andyes, he did legislate our wonderful health
care system that we have in Canada. And now back to our interview with
Ronnie Hawkins. Right, he wasa scotchman and he broke his leg and
couldn't go to the doctor because he'sin the out of hospital and his leg
grew up on Kurgert and he Isaw he always had a lamp and he

(25:29):
got Medicare through as nineteen fifty eight. Right, yeah, and so boy,
I tell you what, everybody's takingadvantage of it ever since. It
was a Conway Twitty that recommended.Yeah, Conway Twitty recommended that you moved
to Canada because it was the PromisedLand for rock and roll. It was
Harold Jason when he came up herefirst. But then he got that record

(25:52):
I Only Make Believe and it wasa big, big hit, big hit,
And so they changed the name toConway Twitty Master's management company did that.
I like Harold Drinkings. Well,you know the guys in suits.
So you won the Juno in nineteeneighty four for Making It Again, and
then you were nominated again in nineteenninety two for Let It Rock. And

(26:17):
then you talked about some of theseawards you've won. You were in nineteen
ninety six, you were honored bythe Canadian Acadomy of Arts and Sciences for
your contributions to developing Canada's music industry. And we've already talked about that a
little bit. But well, haveI been luckier? Why? I tell
you what. I got to playmusic and got to you know, Canada

(26:37):
is a promised land, but itreally was a promised land for me because
you know, we had go inthe army and do all that stuff.
Back then. We shame to Sanataand we didn't have to or had to
go in one time, just didjust for basic training. But we didn't
have to go anymore as you're outof country. At what we stayed in

(27:00):
of it. I didn't want tosee him more military. I'd joined as
a prisoner of war ifucker'd gotten thatany quicker. Yeah, really Yeah.
We had a young draft dodger livingin our house when I was a kid.
When I was twelve years old,we had a fello from I think
it was Campton, Ohio, andhe was working as a camp guide up
in Tamogany, Ontario. Who mygrandmother said, well, if you want

(27:22):
to do some work around my house, you can stay here. And he
was very influential because there was alot, a lot of political stuff happening
around that time. Oh ye,Jesse Winchester, Robbie Robertson producer's first album.
Okay, he was a draft dodgerand he was in Canada, and
then Robbie Robertson produced his first album, right right, Yeah, you know,

(27:48):
there was a lot of a lotof heat in the States back then
with Vietnam and everything else. Sofor a young guy like me, a
young Canadian kid, to spend timewith somebody who was, you know,
avoid that war was quite eye opening. When I'm young, people you know
that they were smarter than they usin foreign countries in their country trying to

(28:10):
whip them to take over their country. Well, that's like Hitler trying to
take over countries. You know,it looked bad. The United States looked
bad during that Korean War. Boy, in the Middle East, it don't
look good. Yeah, no kidding. The reputation has been reputation like it
used to be when I was akid, and there wasn't body in the

(28:32):
world as bigger than Franklin Roosevelt.He was the one that took the gold
away and gave you paper money.Right. Well, my grandparents didn't like
that because they had seen Confederate moneygo bad. You know, Confederate man
worked way more than the regular moneyat one time. Yeah, all of

(28:53):
a sudden it wasn't worked that way. You know. Well, there's been
a lot of changes over time andgovernment and what they've done changes. I've
said, you know what's changed,But that's why everybody wanted to go.
Gold has never changed, and it'sstill probably the only thing to have.
I guess most people who know whoRonnie Hawkins or the Hawk is, we

(29:14):
know about your music, but somethingwe don't often think about is that you
were also an accomplished TV and filmactor. How did you get into acting?
I couldn't do nothing. I justdid what they told me. And
you know what, I was inabout seventy movies and sixty nine of them.
I had a Hawk T shirt on. I got top cash or what

(29:36):
do they call that. Yeah,you played the biker looking dude with the
Hawk T shirt all the way.I'm telling you whatever. But I've got
to see a lot of good actors. But I wore that Hawk T shirt
and with some kind of a backeror something and everyone of them. Well,
speaking of actors, at one pointin time, you had Beverly di'angelo

(29:56):
in your band. Oh yeah,she was eighteen years old. We celebrated
her eighteenth birthday. Oh what.She was a talented quite a talent she
is. She's ten times better thananybody knows. She is always had better
that she's ever done on it.She know, she's done something movies with
Chelly ch whoever he was on vacationmovies. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

(30:18):
she calls all the time, andyou know, and she's real funny.
She's really talented too. I gother into hair and then the Jesus Christ
Superchild, I Christ Superstar because ofher. I knew the cats who were
doing John Bashett was the one whowere doing it, and I knew him.
I've known him for quite some time. And I got her in it

(30:41):
and I got it started. She'sfunny. She came up from my last
Gurah. I was going to talkabout that actually, because that happened in
September of twenty seventeen. And Iknow that because I was putting on a
benefit show at a twelve hundred seatchurch out a toy for the Children's Health
Foundation of Southwestern Ontario. And Ihad planned on having John Rowlands and Nick

(31:07):
Panacco there, and they couldn't goto my show, my benefit because they
were going to your big bash.We had several bashes, but that was
a real good one. The leastone. Well, I saw some pictures
and you had besides Nick and John, it was Chris Christofferson, Beverly D'Angelo,
a whole. Oh. We hadso many, so many Canadian stars,

(31:29):
you know, and we had thirtysix acts. I don't think there's
many shows ever had thirty six actsplay that day, played their own way,
played free, set up. Nottoo many people's had that done either.
Yeah. Well, I mean youkind of downplay your own popularity,
but that's a testament to it.You had that many people went to your

(31:52):
I don't know if you go avery lucky I'm telling you what. I
have been so super lucky. Myson, for instance, he practiced this
his ass off and he probably becameone of the best gets art players in
Canada. But then there were anyjobs like I had, I could go
in and club to stay for amonth. Now you're lucky to get a

(32:13):
one night er. I stay myway all the way across Canada East and
all the way across Canada West oncea year, or especially if I was
promoting an album and it took threemonths, you know, then because I
could stay a full week in abar, you know, on the road.
But that's great because you've got timeto promote your material, your your

(32:34):
album. You go around to youknow this jockeys and TV stations and that
for that just for one hour you'reloading up and leaving, you know,
you'll see nothing. Yeah, well, I know I came to the party
a little bit late. I'm ayoungster in terms of that. I'm sixty
one, but oh my god,I've got underwear on older than that.

(32:54):
Yeah, I know, that's ayear young, sixty one. Nobody's that
young. More So, when Igot into the music business, it was
still the sixth nighter thing, youknow. And as it happened in the
mid eighties, I got married thefirst time and I quit playing for a
while, and boy was I disappointedwhen I got back into it. And
now they were all down to twonighters and one nighters and the odd three

(33:16):
nighters. So back in the day. There was a lot more opportunity,
for sure, when you had gamesacross Canada. And the Canadian musicians today
as good as any musicians in theworld. I'm telling you what. They
got some pickers and it. Youknow, in the old days, there
were just two or three great pickersyou know, around and now there's law

(33:37):
there's a dozen seven and they're real, real good. Yeah. Well,
you know, I was talking toEllen mcelwaine. I don't know if you're
familiar with Ellen, but she wasa pretty big deal as a female slide
guitarist and she hung around with peoplelike Jimmy Hendrix, et cetera. But
she said that when she moved toCanada permanently, what she would do is

(33:59):
she would travel across the country andpick up a bass player and a drummer
for you know, two or threeweeks at a time wherever she went.
And another friend of mine, BillDurst, who is the original lead guitar
player with Thundermug, still travels well, when the world turns back on and
we're done with this pandemic, hestill travels across Canada picking up a drummer

(34:20):
and every town he goes, youknow, and I have something. Yeah.
I mean, like you say,there's so much talent around, I
wouldn't have that much papers. Youknow what. I've got to go.
But you can call me his handyou want to, and I'm finisha,
or talk or change the stories orwhatever you want to do. Just one
more thing, okay. I justwant to know. Is there some place
that people can still go to getyour music today? You know, I

(34:44):
don't know. I don't keep upwith anything anymore. I'm thinking about and
there's time to get me to andIM record two or three songs. You
know about Dylan and Gordon Light withsongs and Chris Christofferson. Well, I
don't know if I get two ornot, but what the band is offered
to? And should pray for nothing? All these good sessions guys there.

(35:07):
And Daniel Lang, why have youheard that name? Oh? Absolutely yah?
Oh boy had studio his it's theold studio he had before, and
they put some pretty good steth andthey got a real, real, real
good bunch of session people there.Now, well listen, I know you
got to go. I got togo because they're hollering and yelling and Hawkins,
well you know what, Ronnie I'mgoing to really hope that that recording

(35:29):
project happens, and I look forwardto a time when guys like you and
I can sit down face to faceover coffee or a beer and tell some
lies in person. But until sucha time as that, I thank you
very much for taking the time outof your day to talk to me.
Thank you very much. And youcall it because I've got a whole bunch
of lies I haven't told you yet. Well until next time, Ronnie,

(35:52):
thanks so much, and cheers.Okay, thank you very much. Well.
Ronnie Hawkins is certainly a natural bornstory tell her. I'll tell you
that that was a fun interview,just to let you know. Ronnie has
been in an awful lot of TVand movie stuff over the years. He
had his own TV series, HonkyTonk in nineteen eighty six. He was

(36:15):
part of the Bob Dylan documentary RollingThunder Review in twenty nineteen, and the
Red Green movie Duct Tape Forever asa gas station attendant in two thousand and
two. He was in Meatballs threein nineteen eighty six, and perhaps most
interesting to me was the documentary abouthis life that was released in two thousand

(36:38):
and four called still alive and kicking. Here's the thing. In two thousand
and two, Ronnie Hawkins was diagnosedwith terminal pancreatic cancer. And all these
years later he is rocking and rollingand telling his stories and a few lies
here and there as he calls it. And it was such a pleasure to

(37:00):
speak with Ronnie. Now Here isRonnie Hawkins Live with the Hawks. Plane
Who do you love? Enjoy?Bigtime? Now, Big Time Time?

(37:42):
Walk forty seven miles of Bob Black. Here's a phone escape for a nicktime.
Got a brand new house on theRose side me the bradescap Hacke.
Got a brand new chimney mid oldtop made from a human school. Come
on, Robbins, take a littlewall, Timmy, who yet? Now

(38:04):
you go down? You I'll leave. Took me by the hand, said
who you really? I understand it. You got a two stone hand and

(39:08):
I grieved yard in mine. Iturned forty one. I don't mind die
rite a line of town or usualdown and speak with Take it easy,

(39:30):
God, don't you give me noone it now? It was black and

(39:51):
no now it was gue now onthe corner setting an ice wacker. Both
was it lost? Somebody screamed,you should have heard just what I seen.

(40:20):
Tommy Solo's Famous Friends is a oneman production, meaning that I've done
all the work including producing, editing, guest acquisition, etc. All rights
reserved. You can find me onFacebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The
theme song for Tommy Solo's Famous Friendswas written and recorded by Tommy Solo with

(40:40):
a little help from my friends inthe night crew. And hey, if
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