Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins had one of the longest, most influential careers of the original rockabillies of the 1950s. However, Hawkins became a living legend outside the United States; born in Arkansas, he found enduring popularity in Canada, where he barnstormed clubs for years, and led a group that became rock & roll boot camp for the five men who found fame as the Band. Hawkins was a raucous rockabilly howler who delivered a potent blend of rock, R&B, blues, and country sounds, while dazzling audiences with over-the-top dance moves and acrobatic stage tricks. 1990's The Best of Ronnie Hawkins & the Hawks is devoted to his fiery material of the 1950s and '60s, 2008's Ronnie Rocks covers the same territory with some worthy later sides, and the 1996 two-fer CD Rock & Roll Resurrection/The Giant of Rock & Roll includes two of his comeback albums of the 1970s.