He was 87. I saw him live twice, he was amazing.
The first time was at the El Macombo in Toronto, I was barely old enough to get in. I’d never seen anything like it.
A really great voice and a one of a kind entertainer.
And what a life he lived, a true Canadian legend!
Resting in peace doesn’t really sound like it would suit him!
A couple of early clips with Levon twirling the sticks:
On Bandstand (wearing a silly cowboy outfit); the Hawks start around 1:30 in. “Forty Days”.
My favourite Ronny Hawkins story is about the band Crowbar who were some of his former backup performers. They got their band name from Ronny’s comment: “Those boys could fuck up a crowbar in fifteen seconds!”