Voting Station

Dale Hawkins

Please vote to return to collections.

Musician

The Resume

    (August 22, 1936-February 13, 2010)
    Born in Gold Mine, Louisiana
    Birth name was Delmar Allen Hawkins
    Cousin of Ronnie Hawkins
    Singles include ‘La-Do-Dada,’ ‘My Babe,’ ‘L.A., Memphis, and Tyler, Texas,’ and, of course, ‘Susie Q’
    Hosted ‘The Dale Hawkins Show’ (WCAU, Philadelphia; not too different than American Bandstand)
    Nicknamed the ‘Rock ‘n Roll Tornado’
    2007 Louisiana Music Hall of Fame inductee
    Died of colon cancer in Little Rock, Arkansas

Why he might be annoying:

    His signature sound was also referred to as ‘swamp rock boogie’ (understandable, this being Louisiana and all).
    One demo tape included what by today’s standards would be a ridiculous song title (‘See You Soon Baboon,’ in response to ‘See You Later, Alligator’).
    As a teenager – having lied about his age – he spent a year and a half in the Navy reserves.
    In his heyday, his looks and fashion style would have done credit to Rick Astley.
    CCR’s version of ‘Susie Q’ is far better known than his. (Also not helpful was that a DJ’s wife and a record shop owner were given co-credit for the song instead of backing guitarist James Burton.)

Why he might not be annoying:

    His mother was a teacher in the town’s only school.
    After school, he would work in the cotton fields alongside black field hands and pick up any battered musical instrument that showed up on break.
    Having been in a lengthy drug rehab program in the 1980s, he would open a crisis-intervention program for teenagers in the South.
    In addition to recording and production (the latter of which spawned ‘Hey! Baby’), he served in key functions for at least three different labels.
    ‘Study the masters, man… grab the roots and see how it evolved and know what’s real.’

Credit: Cool It All Right?


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 11 Votes: 81.82% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying