Ronnie Hawkins formed his first band, the Hawks. He toured with them throughout Arkansas, Oklahoma and Missouri.
Hawkins also owned and operated the Rockwood Club in Fayetteville, where some of rock and roll’s earliest pioneers came to play including Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison and Conway Twitty.
On advice from Twitty, Hawkins began touring Canada in 1985. His first gig there was at the Golden Rail Tavern in Hamilton, Ontario, where he became an overnight success.
Hawkins decided to move to Canada, and in 1964 became a permanent resident, eventually making Peterborough, Ontario, area, his him in 1970. Hawkins moved from their Stoney Lake Manor in Douro-Dummer after selling in 2017 to live in Peterborough.