Delmar Allen "Dale" Hawkins (August 22, 1936 – February 13, 2010) was a pioneer American rock singer,

songwriter A songwriter is a person who creates musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music genre and film scoring. ...

, and rhythm guitarist who was often called the architect of swamp rock boogie.

Career

Hawkins was born in Goldmine Plantation in Richland Parish, Louisiana, and while in his early teens moved with his family to Bossier City. He began recording in 1956. In 1957, Hawkins was playing at Shreveport,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

clubs, and although his music was influenced by the new rock and roll style of

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

and the guitar sounds of Scotty Moore, Hawkins blended that with the uniquely heavy

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

sound of

black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

Louisiana artists for his recording of his swamp-rock classic, " Susie Q." Fellow Louisiana guitarist and future Rock and Roll Hall of Famer James Burton provided the signature riff and solo; this was also guitarist Joe Osborn's introduction to recording. The song was chosen as one of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. An accompanying album, ''Oh! Suzy Q '' was released in 1958. Creedence Clearwater Revival's version of the song on their 1968 debut album helped launch their career and today it is probably the best-known version. In 1958 Hawkins recorded a single of

Willie Dixon William James Dixon (July 1, 1915January 29, 1992) was an American blues musician, vocalist, songwriter, arranger and record producer. He was proficient in playing both the upright bass and the guitar, and sang with a distinctive voice, but he ...

's " My Babe" at the

Chess Records Chess Records was an American record company established in 1950 in Chicago, specializing in blues and rhythm and blues. It was the successor to Aristocrat Records, founded in 1947. It expanded into soul music, gospel music, early rock an ...

studio in Chicago, featuring Telecaster guitarist Roy Buchanan. He went on to a long and successful career. He recorded more songs for

Chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

into the early 1960s. However, his career was not limited to recording or performing. He hosted a teen dance party, ''The Dale Hawkins Show,'' on

WCAU-TV WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jersey–licensed Tel ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. He then became a

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

, and found success with The Uniques' "Not Too Long Ago," the

Five Americans The Five Americans was a 1960s United States, American rock music, rock musical ensemble, band, best known for their song "Western Union (song), Western Union", which reached number five in the United States, U.S. ''Billboard (magazine), Billboar ...

' " Western Union," and Bruce Channel's " Hey! Baby". In 1998, Ace Records issued a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, ''Dale Hawkins, Rock 'n' Roll Tornado'', which contained a collection of his early works and previously unreleased material. Other recordings included his 1969 country rock album, ''L.A., Memphis & Tyler, Texas''; and a 1999 release, ''Wildcat Tamer'', of all-new recordings that garnered Hawkins a 4-star review in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. Hawkins was executive vice president of Abnak Records; Vice President, Southwest Division, Bell Records (here he produced Bruce Channel, Ronnie Self, James Bell, the Festivals, the Dolls, and the Gentrys); and A&R director, RCA West Coast Rock Division, working with Michael Nesmith and Harry Nilsson. In the 1990s, he produced "Goin Back to Mississippi" by R. L. Burnside's slide guitarist, Kenny Brown. In October 2007, The Louisiana Music Hall of Fame honored Dale Hawkins for his contributions to Louisiana music by inducting him into The Louisiana Music Hall Of Fame. At the same time, he released his latest recording, "Back Down to Louisiana," inspired by a trip to his childhood home. It was recognized by the UK's

music magazine A music magazine is a magazine dedicated to music and culture in music cognition, music culture. Such magazines typically include music news, interviews, photo shoots, essays, record reviews, concert reviews and occasionally have a covermount with ...

, '' Mojo'', as No. 10 in the Americana category in their 2007 Best of issue, while ''L.A., Memphis & Tyler, Texas'' was awarded No. 8 in the reissue category. Hawkins' pioneering contributions have been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Arkansan and

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

musician Ronnie Hawkins was Dale Hawkins' cousin. In 2005, Hawkins was diagnosed with colon cancer and began chemotherapy while continuing to perform in the US and abroad. He died on February 13, 2010, from colon cancer in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

Discography

Studio albums *''Oh! Suzy-Q'' (1958) *''LA, Memphis & Tyler, Texas'' (1969) *''Wildcat Tamer'' (1999) *''Back Down To Louisiana'' (2007) Live album *''Let's All Twist At The Miami Beach Peppermint Lounge'' (1962)

References

External links

*
Rockabilly Hall of Fame

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hawkins, Dale 1936 births 2010 deaths American male guitarists American male singers American rockabilly guitarists Songwriters from Louisiana Deaths from cancer in Arkansas Deaths from colorectal cancer in the United States People from St. Mary Parish, Louisiana Swamp rock musicians Bell Records artists Checker Records artists Singers from Louisiana Guitarists from Louisiana 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians American male songwriters Argo Records artists