Rockabilly Legend Ronnie Hawkins, Who Mentored The Band, Dies at 87: 'Completely Unique'

Chris Chew/UPI/Shutterstock Ronnie Hawkins

Ronnie Hawkins, the rockabilly star under whose guidance and mentorship The Band was born, died on Sunday. He was 87.

Hawkins' wife Wanda reportedly confirmed his death to The Canadian Press news agency, while his daughter Leah told The New York Times he'd been suffering an undisclosed illness.

"He went peacefully and he looked as handsome as ever," Wanda said.

The musician was mourned by The Band songwriter and guitarist Robbie Robertson, who in a statement recalled having Hawkins bring him down from Canada to the Mississippi delta when he was just 16 years old.

"The story of The Band began with Ronnie Hawkins. He was our mentor. He taught us the rules of the road," Robertson wrote. "Ron prided himself in always having top notch players in his group. Levon Helm his drummer in the Hawks and I talked Ron into hiring Rick Danko on bass and vocals, Richard Manuel on piano and vocals and Garth Hudson on organ and sax. Along with Levon and me this became the magic combination. Ronnie was the godfather. The one who made this all happen."

Robertson continued: "He was not only a great artist, a tremendous performer and bandleader, but had a style of humor unequaled. Fall down funny and completely unique. Yep, God only made one of those. And he will live in our hearts forever."

Hawkins was born in Huntsville, Alabama to a teacher mother and a barber father, but eventually made his way north to Ontario in 1958 to further his music career on the advice of Conway Twitty.

He released several solo singles of his own, but was best known for his keen ability to spot and groom talent on the Canadian music scene. The Hawks, who backed him from 1961 to 1963, later joined forces with Bob Dylan, and eventually found massive success after renaming themselves The Band.

Bettmann Archive Ronnie Hawkins

"Ronnie Hawkins could really work a crowd on a Friday night. I mean, he had 'em where he wanted 'em. He was big, good-looking, funny, and had a good voice," Levon Helm once said of Hawkins, according to The Band's Facebook page. "He was an entertainer rather than a musician. He had an instinct for crowd psychology and could start a rumble across the room if he wanted to just by flicking his wrist. It was this power he had over people."

Hawkins also enjoyed a good relationship with John Lennon, and even accompanied the former Beatle and wife Yoko Ono to Ottawa, where they famously visited Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1969.

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Evan Agostini/Invision/AP/Shutterstock Ronnie Hawkins

"At that particular time, I thought I was doin' them a favor," he later told the National Post, per the Associated Press. "I thought the Beatles were an English group that got lucky. I didn't know a lot about their music. I thought Yoko's was (silly). To this day, I have never heard a Beatle album. For 10 billion dollars, I couldn't name one song on Abbey Road. I have never in my life picked up a Beatle album, and listened to it. Never. But John was so powerful. I liked him. He wasn't one of those hotshots, you know."

Hawkins — who also acted in several movies — performed at Bill Clinton's inaugural party in 1992, and was the subject of a 2007 documentary narrated by Dan Aykroyd.

He was also named a member of the Order of Canada in 2013 for "his contributions to the development of the music industry in Canada, as a rock and roll musician, and for his support of charitable causes," the AP reported.