Dale Hawkins

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He roared out of Northwest Louisiana in the mid 50s, a whirlwind of creativity about to leave his indelible mark on the music world. It was a time when exposure to many kinds of music was the norm, and Dale absorbed them all like a sponge. But his distinct preference for black music would always exert the greatest influence, giving his music a harder edge than that of most of his contemporaries.
His swamp rock classic, "Susie Q," crackles with the manic energy of that restless time, and conjures instant images of steamy Southern nights. It features a 15-year-old James Burton on guitar, the first of many guitar wizards Dale would discover and nurture. Others included Scotty Moore, Joe Osborn, Roy Buchanan, Fred Carter, Jr., and Kenny Paulsen.
Dale's early experiments in production in the studios of Shreveport's KWKH with Merle Kilgore and Johnny Horton developed the skills that would later produce hits for the Uniques, Five Americans, Jon & Robin & the In Crowd, Michael Nesmith, Harry Nilsson, and others. Along the way, he even found time to host "The Big Big Beat" aka "The Dale Hawkins Show" on WCAU-TV in Philadelphia.
In 1999, just in time for his first appearance at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Dale released his first album of new material in 30 years. Released on Mystic, it was called "Wildcat Tamer." It garnered exceptional reviews, including a four star rave from Greil Marcus in Rolling Stone. Following JazzFest, Dale also made an appearance at the Chicago Blues Festival, where he took part in a historic reunion of Chess recording artists.
Since the release of "Wildcat Tamer," Dale has made a video of one of the songs from it; has reunited with James Burton for a cut on Ripete's "Beach Music Volume 2," and been featured in filmmaker Robert Mugge's "Rhythm 'n' Bayous: A Road Map to Louisiana Music." Dale's performance so impressed Mugge that he was asked to appear at the Mill Valley, Denver and New Orleans Film Festivals when the film was screened.
Already a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Hall of Fame, Dale was honored again when Britain's Now Dig This readers voted him a recipient of their 2000 NDT Awards, which, according to them, is The Real Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. A film documentary and book are currently in the works.
Dale has just released "Back Down to Louisiana," also to favorable reviews, and continues to perform worldwide.