Ronnie Hawkins lived fast, didn’t die young

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This article was published 19/08/2004 (7991 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

JUST because the music business tends to afford its artists ample opportunities for self-destructive lifestyle choices, the term “rock ‘n’ roll survivor” is a badge of honour that gets pinned on pretty much anybody who’s ever had a) a hit record, b) a couple of stints in rehab, and c) a spot on one of those washed-up-band retro/reunion tours.

But the documentary Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin’, which airs tomorrow at 8:30 p.m. on CTV, elevates the cliché to a whole new level, because “The Hawk” — an Arkansas-born rockabilly legend who has called Canada home for more than four decades — is a pop-music pioneer with a story that is as unexpected, uplifting and outright bizarre as any you’re likely to encounter.

As survival yarns go, Hawkins’ is pure, harrowing, back-from-the-brink-of-death stuff, peppered with loads of family lovin’, friendly support, fan adulation and just a hint of faith-healer intervention.

Hawkins, a fringe player in rock’s pioneering age who moved north to Toronto in the late ’50s and had an instant and profound impact on Canada’s emerging rock ‘n’ roll scene, is a guy who never hit it big himself but was connected to a whole bunch of people who became huge stars.

Before they were The Band, Robbie Robertson, Levon Helm and company were The Hawks, providing the musical engine for Hawkins’s careening onstage antics. Kris Kristofferson credits Hawkins for giving him a break when nobody else would. David Foster honed his musical chops as a member of another version of The Hawks.

And the list goes on. Suffice it to say that during Maple Leaf rock’s formative decade, the ’60s, Hawkins’s show at Yonge Street’s Coq D’Or was a must-see for pop-music devotees and a regular hangout for many of the industry’s most important players.

The music was the attraction; the endless after-show party was the deal-clincher. Hawkins lived an authentic rock ‘n’ roll life — fast, loose, raunchy, intoxicated and seemingly oblivious to the fate-tempting nature of his hard-charging existence.

In 2002, it all seemed to catch up with him. Hawkins was diagnosed with a tumour surrounding his pancreas; his doctors were certain it was cancerous and inoperable. Filmmaker Anne Pick follows the aged rocker to a series of medical appointments, each of which brings worse news than the last, and then stays with Hawkins and his family as they deal with the bleak prognosis.

As the news spreads, tributes begin to pour in from fans and friends, and if you’ve never really known who Hawkins is, you’re bound to be impressed by the roster of A-level names who do. It’s clear here that this is a showbiz veteran for whom admiration and adoration are boundless.

And just when all the fitting farewells seem to have been said, Hawkins’ tale takes a back-toward-the-living turn that simply must be seen to be believed — and even then, it’s a bit unbelievable.

Ronnie Hawkins: Still Alive and Kickin’ is a fascinating look at the life, death and life of a guy who probably should have joined the ranks of rock’s lived-fast-and-died-young crowd several decades ago. But he’s here. Still. Again. Somehow.

Living in the past: There’s a fine time line between the cringe-inducingly outdated and the wistfully nostalgic, and the new MuchMoreMusic series Back In… has opted to explore the uncomfortable side of the equation.

The flimsy pop-culture retrospective, which premieres tomorrow night at 8 p.m., takes an irreverent and not-at-all-nostalgic look back at the years 1980 to 1994, skewering the music, fads, styles and events of a different year in each episode.

The series begins, curiously, with 1985, and folks who bought the records and wore the clothes will be able to squirm and giggle along as Back In… recalls the rise and rinse of acid-washed jeans, the arrival of eyeliner and big-sprayed hair FOR MEN, the unfortunate popularity of Miami Vice (both the show and the fashions) and the chart-topping success of Bruce Springsteen, Sting, Lionel Richie and, of course, a-ha.

The hour-long instalment explores a dizzying array of topics, including Fads, Hunks & Babes, Best & Worst Videos, Hitched & Ditched, One-Hit Wonders, Hot Toys and News of the Year (with commentary from CNN anchor Anderson Cooper).

It’s lightweight fun, but for a series whose press notes announce that it’s an M3 original production, there’s not much in the way of Canadian content in Back In…‘s pop-culture review. Then again, maybe not having contributed much to ’80s culture isn’t such a bad thing for us north-of-the-border types.