Ronnie Hawkins, a famed singer popularly known as the "Father of Canadian Rock N' Roll," has passed away at the age of 87.
His wife Wanda confirmed the tragic news to The Canadian Press, saying, "He went peacefully, and he looked as handsome as ever."
According to Deadline, the musician died due to an illness; however, it was not confirmed what kind of medical condition he had before passing.
Hawkins had different aliases throughout his career, like Mr. Dynamo, Rompin' Ronnie, the Hawk, and Sir Ronnie.
The musician founded the Hawks, which involved Levon Helm and Robbie Robertson. They played with Bob Dylan in 1966 for his first electric tour.
In 1976, the singer joined the Band for a farewell show performance despite its members frequently clashing with each other. Martin Scorsese captured their show for the concert film "The Last Waltz."
Ronnie Robertson revealed in a previous interview that the late music legend was "really good at gathering musicians."
"It was like a bootcamp for musicians to go through, learn the music and when to do certain things and not do certain things. He just played a real pivotal part in all of it," he added.
Ronnie Hawkins was born in Arkansas in 1935. After high school, he initially joined the army reserve, but he later opened a bar in his hometown of Fayetteville called Rockwood Club.
The venue became a popular place to perform among known musicians in the industry like Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Roy Orbison, and many more.
Later on, he got interested in music, leading him to headline the club with his band, Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks.
In 1958, he had a concert in Canada and was immediately moved by the audience as they were eager for more rock n' roll music.
Since he loved the north so much, he moved to the country and released more music. He managed to score two songs on the Billboard Top 100 at the time.
Hawkins was labeled as the "Father of Canadian Rock N' Roll" because he helped many Canadian singers become famous in the United States.
He even lends money and transportation for them to be a hit in their neighboring country.
Hawkins was successful throughout his career as he earned numerous nods from Juno Awards (the Canadian Grammys) and was honored with a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.
The singer retired in 2004 due to his health, which can be watched in the TV documentary "Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin'."
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